Autistic 9yo Removed From Home

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Okay. I need input on this letter. Any suggestions for changes? Am i a bit too much of an ass? Do I have any details wrong? Good format? Good flow?



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ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia, Canada. -- Ayn Van Dyk, an autistic 9 year old girl was removed from her family, forced hospitalized and forced drugged after a wandering episode.

It would appear that your department has made a serious blunder.

There is a child in BC who is diagnosed with Autism, who has been removed from her family home, where she was getting around the clock care, and had proven not to require medication while at home. In addition, there were no charges or signs of neglect or abuse - the instigation for the removal of said child was that the child managed to make her way to a neighbor's house and "got lost".


You may not be exposed to the following information in the course of your work, so I provide it here:

Many autistic children manage to escape from supervision: it takes but a second. In fact, we hear about "normal" kids doing this all the time - often falling into unguarded swimming pools and the like. In the autistic community this is an behaviour known as "bolting". This being the first time the child has managed to do so is suggestive that the father is quite good at his parental duties.

It seems, from reports, that said father is being denied an opinion in her care, and that he is also being denied access to visitation with his child. An autistic child's life is centered around routine and recognition on their environment. To rob her not only of those two factors, but also of her father, is cruel and unusual punishment for any child. Exponentially so for such a one as this. Father knows best, and a father who has successfully been the primary caregiver for nine years of an autistic daughter, father is God.

There is going to be a trial, from the information I gather, but when is the trial? What exactly is this father of three being accussed of, what was the reason for the removal of the little girl... From all media sources, the reason was "we feel the father is overburdened". The father's home was a stable home, and he had not only neighbors but an ex wife supporting the opinion that he had the ability to take care of these children. Local populace who have known him should have been consulted.

We also hear (We at Wrongplanet.net, the most heavily populated online forum for persons involved with and diagnosed with autism) that the child is being drugged with the some rather serious drugs, due to the child's poor behaviour at the psychiatric hold where they are keeping her. It is reported that she has never required drugs in the past. It is obvious to us (at wrongplanet.net) that the child's behaviour would understandably be destructive and violent, and more, due to lack of consideration for the basic realities of autism: we need regularity in our lives, not upheaval, not distress, not forced relocation.

The people involved in the decisions to this point have obviously been rather poorly educated - or at least poorly respectful - of the needs of this family, this child. Of Autism. The longer she is away from routine, the more likely to devellop serious psychological problems. The longer she is being maintained under inappropriate care (heavy drugs, loss of routine, loss of security), the more likely she is to display symptoms which may be (erringly) used in trial to demonstrate the child's need for continued medication/imprisonment (yes I say imprisonment, as that is likely the child's emotional mindset at this time). I repeat again: the father was doing a fine job of raising the child without the need for medications. As per his self, his wife, and the community in which he lives. Removal is a violation of an Autistic's right to safety... Even at 9 years old.

And then we come to the drugs.
It is reported that she is receiving:
75mg of Chlorpromazine (also known as Thorazine or Largactil) up to twice daily
In addition, she is being administered Risperdal (Risperidone).

The first drug listed, is known to cause tardive dyskinesia. which can become irreversible. In addition the recommended starting chlorpromazine dose for schizophrenia or mania in an adult is 10 mg three or four times daily or 25 mg two or three times a day.

This child is receiving the maximum dose intended for an adult with much more severe mental concerns, twice daily!

The second drug she is being given is associated with significant weight gain and metabolic problems, as well as tardive dyskinesia which can become irreversible and neuroleptic malignant syndrome (potentially fatal).

Two drugs which can cause an irreversable (tardative) result.
I have in fact known someone who suffers from this due specifically to these drugs.
This is a time sensitive issue.

Please let us (at wrongplanet.net) know you intend to look into this matter personally.





- [signed]
Ottawa, Ontario
My Canada includes Autists.

What the f*ck! I know that is a strong word but that is horrible.....wow, how is that even legal to do that?

Especially the drugs.

Both the event AND the drugs - seperately or in combination - could seriously destroy this child's life. Not to mention she has an Autistic brother still at home who's probably going nuts about it too.

Horrible that this could happen anywhere.

Well written letter in my opinion. I'd remove or change "father is God" though, just because it may be misinterpreted.

Good luck.

I went through a phase of returning neighbours wandering dogs and lost kids. I have also taken neighbor and injured child to hospital. Rescued neighbor's aprent and child in minor incident when domestic appliance caught fire in their kitchen. Also letting parents into home when running around having misplaced their keys and home late when their kids were sat on their doorstep. It happens, to all of us .

Want to know how fast AS tracking systems work when fully online ? Loose your kids in a supermarket and start scanning.

Meme

How can this even be considered legal? If the drugs can potentially harm her to a point where it is irreversable, where's the logic in giving it to her? Are they trying to cure her? Or subtlely get rid of her? This is such BS!

thx will make those two changes
(God/Fatal)

That's a horrible thing to do to an autistic child. It hits me so close to home as well.

I do not have time to make a lengthy response, but there are two things that stood out to me:

First, I would not advise using the word "blunder," especially not so early in your letter.You are familiar with the expression, "it's easier to draw flies with honey than with vinegar," right? You would probably do better to open with a paragraph praising them for the good things they do, and expressing your understanding of how hard their job is. Let them know, up front, that you do NOT consider them to be enemies, and (indirectly) remind them that protecting the child's best interests is their job.

Secondly, your mention of WrongPlanet - the way you have phrased it, it seems (kinda) like you are a spokesperson FOR WrongPlanet.net. Unless Alex asked you to write this on his behalf, you are not. (if he did, then it should be made unambiguously clear that this is so) I think it might be good to rephrase things so that it's clearer that you are simply one member, and that you are expressing concerns which are shared by your and other individual members here.

This is truly a horrific thing. They say they had to give her Risperdal to manage her violent and aggressive behaviour. I daresay she wouldn't feel so violently and aggressively unhinged if they hadn't yanked her away from her family and forbidden contact. I am sickened that Canadian law somehow allows this. There does seem to be a strong international response (yay internet!!) so perhaps there will be a family reunion. The damage they have done is tremendous. I would be surprised if she wasn't violent and aggressive, not to mention regressing and losing skills. There is also the collateral damage done to other family members from the trauma of having their daughter and sister ripped from them.

This should be a crime of kidnapping.

WOW this is just sickeningly HORRIFYING!! That make me so MAD!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !

First. I'm devastated to know this is happening in the 22. century! What the F... were those officials, working on that case, thinking? - Not to say the psychiatric staff??? - Are we on the way back to the 1950'ies, when everything was thought solved with fixation, and forced medication? Poor family, what'll be the next? - I surely hope the family can afford a competent attorney, And that attorney can speed up the case, forcefully!

But, As "another_1" is stating, there's some need of adjustments. Both the ones pointed out by others, and the fact that You need to have documentation for the arguments stated! - Some legal stuff, as well as references to medical tests or studies...

Best of luck! - Such cases need every bit of focus possible!! ! - Newspapers and spoken press (especially national TV) can be great allied in such cases.

That location makes me a bit discouraging, where I live, that is about 250 miles to the north of where I am, well in Washington State in the US, and that disterbs me, this story shows Canada is following what Eastern EU Policies about mental disorder, and I know the UK/GB never have to do this knowing they are a bit more responcible for the disabled person, but this sort of thing is what the Eastern EU Nations got Canada to follow orders from, then that is it, this country is still living back in the days of Midevil times apparently about people's mental disorders.

And to add this, this is why my mom had decited not to put me on meds, these things can kill a person if slightly overdosed, not to mention permanent damage to the human body and brain, but if Canada and the Eastern EU countries think this is a way of making autistic people be given the death penalty for having a disorder like this, it is wrong, and it angers me to no end here, this explains why the US and UK are doing their best to reasearch this and not force people into this kind of Midevil 1920s to 1960's torture.

This truly scares me. If all I've read about this is true, I really wish for that this girl is allowed back soon. It's been far too long that she was removed from her family and familiar environment.

This personally moves me, because while I don't remember wandering off at that age, I was outstandingly good at losing sight of the adult that was with me. Strangers were alerted to me for my loud, hysteric crying. It must have been embarrassing for family and teachers.

I also fled home during meltdowns well into my teens, but the neighbours thankfully never reported. The idea of being admitted into a hospital (away from home! strangers! drugs!) frightens me as 23yo still. And this girl is only 9!

I can imagine it's perfectly true that she didn't show violent behaviour before this, but does not. At that age, I was described as quiet and well-behaved, but if stripped of all familiar routines that changed for me too. I would have trashed the place and people for days at that age and be unsettled and easily triggered into violence out of fear and confusion for weeks if taken away from home in a similar fashion.

Unbelievable! Moving with my mom and looking forward to new apartment was hard for me at 8/9. But this little girl is even removed from her home and her parent, as well as about all safety and familiarity she knows. That's hard to wrap my head around as a young autistic adult so I can hardly imagine what this little autistic 9yo girl must feel and think.