Mom can't go with autistic son on trip.

Page 1 of 1 [ 7 posts ] 

McCann_Can_Triple
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 31 May 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 160

08 Feb 2010, 3:54 pm

Quote:
WARDELL, MO (KFVS) - Dana Wigfall isn't surprised her son's senior trip plans have hit a snag.

B.J. Pikey has autism, and he's raised enough money to join his North Pemiscot High School classmates on a trip to Orlando and Daytona Beach, but with his needs, he can't take care of himself for eight days.

"Somebody else needed to go," Wigfall said. "He couldn't go by himself, obviously, with his diagnosis and stuff."

She says she needs to be with her son on the trip.

However, the school does not allow parents to accompany students on the senior trip....


Rest of story here <------ click
------


It doesn't say what side of the spectrum he is on, although I figure a senior in a mainstream school is likely Aspergers or high functioning autism. Nor does the article mention the wishes of the boy.

I think if he wants to, he should go with the aide. If something raises a way should be found to go home. No harm in at least trying.


_________________
QUOTE ME NOT

River: They say the snow on the roof is too heavy. They say the ceiling will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger. "

Hurley's mom "Jesus Christ is not a weapon."


kc8ufv
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 762
Location: Toledo, OH

08 Feb 2010, 4:17 pm

I know the article doesn't mention the boy's wishes, but it sounds kinda like the mom is being overprotective. To me, the article kinda makes mom sound elitist, I mean, what would happen to the boy if for some reason mom was incapacitated for a period of time. I say, without a specific, demonstrated need that it must be the mother who goes to accompany the boy, I kinda gotta side with the school.



Brunodad
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jan 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 5

09 Feb 2010, 6:28 pm

I am a father of and with autism so i have a unique insight here. I say let her go, no two cases are alike (I KNOW MY HOME HAS 3) and noone knows an aspy kid as well as their parents, assuming they have good parents (I didn't ) ,B.J. is graduating so that's a testament to the mother. We are talkinging about a bright alien environment for a kid that has issues with sensory overstimulation, her presence could only ease things for all involved. My opinoin...



valkyrieraven88
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 20 Jan 2010
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 222
Location: St. Louis, MO

09 Feb 2010, 8:59 pm

Not necessarily. A lot of the people on this site who are my age are quite able to do things on their own when their parents hold them back. My own mother treats me like a baby because of it...



KingofKaboom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 20 Oct 2007
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,471

10 Feb 2010, 1:22 am

Okay to me she seems way to overprotective, I mean the guy raised the money to go and planned it out so I bet she either knew and waited till the last moment or he's competent enough to get a job or save money and plan ahead. My guess is she's a paranoid mom with a kid that had some trouble and can't handle it now that she isn't necessary for him to wipe his backside... Glad my mom lets me go off and just gets nervous like a normal mom does when her son goes out of her reach for a time. I've never had trouble like this poor guy, if she keeps coddling him, he'll never be able to take care of himself b/c he's never learned how to. That's the most basic thing parents and teachers forget, that they are here to teach us how to care for ourselves not how to be cared for... :x


_________________
Tacos (optional)


Brunodad
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jan 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 5

10 Feb 2010, 1:48 pm

The spectrum is so broad no 2 cases are the same and for the sake of safety and liability we always side with the primary care giver , there are 24 hours in a day and if u have an ASD u know what a rollercoaster those can be, just let her go, who is it hurtin'? My considered opinion. 8O



Katie_WPG
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 7 Sep 2008
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 492
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada

11 Feb 2010, 10:56 pm

Brunodad wrote:
The spectrum is so broad no 2 cases are the same and for the sake of safety and liability we always side with the primary care giver , there are 24 hours in a day and if u have an ASD u know what a rollercoaster those can be, just let her go, who is it hurtin'? My considered opinion. 8O


The idea is that it would impede the ability of the kids to interact with one another if someone's mother was coming along as his personal chaperone. How fun would it be to have your mother hovering around you at all times? It would be a nightmare more than anything.

If he raised the money to go, he was allowed to go in the first place by the school, and he WANTED to go, then that means that he is considered to be a peer of the "normal" students. A child who wasn't considered to be a peer would be told to not even bother (or more likely, their parents would be told).

As for the "rollercoaster" comment, not always. I can speak for myself and several others with AS that I know when I say that we have always been emotionally stable people with an ability to look after ourselves for a few days without parental supervision.