How it was that bad...
05/08/11 12:25
Has anyone collected statistics for the number of parents who get so desperate that they actually take their own and their child with autism’s life? I cannot believe how often this is happening. The latest story that I just read involved a psychiatrist and her son in the State of Maryland. The article claims that the child was being bullied and the psychiatrist wanted her son to be transferred to another school; however, people do not murdered their children and then “off” themselves due to bullying. This phenomenon happens much too often and indicates a more serious problem: societies have not yet figured out how to accommodate children with this disability. The stress on parents is so great that those unable to manage the advocacy against large bureaucracies (and it is always against large bureaucracies), take desperate measures. In the case of the psychiatrist and her son, she was fighting the school system, which is set up to protect itself from “demanding” parents. This is why it is so important for parents of children with autism to advocate together and, when necessary, lawyer up. With the increase in children being diagnosed with autism, perhaps the system will be forced to be more accommodating; however, the opposite may occur and these unconscionable murder suicides may increase. Let’s hope not.