Hi! I am a new member of this tribe. Not a parent, but spent years working in human services: public schools, nursing homes, group homes. Now I work part-time for an agency that provides services to families of children on the autism spectrum.
I've dealt with parents in all these settings, and see too many conflicts between administrators, teachers, service providers and parents, so I'd like to hang out, listen and learn.
Question: have you read about the recent case of the child with severe developmental disabilities whose parents had her uterus and breast tissue removed, then kept her on medication to stunt her growth? So extreme, but I have seen children with severe impairments undergo medical procedures to facilitate their care, like having teeth removed to control biting behavior, or having hysterectomies to stop menstruation, prevent pregnancy, etc. Any more, that is more commonly done with the hormone shots.
Any thoughts on this?
I've dealt with parents in all these settings, and see too many conflicts between administrators, teachers, service providers and parents, so I'd like to hang out, listen and learn.
Question: have you read about the recent case of the child with severe developmental disabilities whose parents had her uterus and breast tissue removed, then kept her on medication to stunt her growth? So extreme, but I have seen children with severe impairments undergo medical procedures to facilitate their care, like having teeth removed to control biting behavior, or having hysterectomies to stop menstruation, prevent pregnancy, etc. Any more, that is more commonly done with the hormone shots.
Any thoughts on this?
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Missouri
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Re: Elective Surgeries
Sat, January 6, 2007 - 12:13 PMas my son shows signs of puberty,i've thought about this alot.
there's a local case(bc,canada) where a mother had her son castrised(she went to court for legal permission to do so) to prevent him from sexually assualting his female workers, and then a human rights group sued her for it.
we will have to make decisions for our children that most parents won't ever need to face,personally the case you mentioned seems so extreem ,but i can't judge as i may need to make such a choice someday myself.
we just have to keep faith that we know whats best for our kids,and support each other through the hard times. -
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Re: Elective Surgeries
Mon, January 8, 2007 - 2:29 PMI feel that these surgeries that are done to facilitate lifetime care for those who will never be able to care for themselves are based on extremely difficult and personal decisions on the part of the caretakers, whose circumstances outsiders can't begin to fully understand. In the case of the 'pillow angel' you refer to...her parents won't live forever and apparently plan to care for her until they are so frail they will need care themselves before they turn her over to an institution. They made the decisions that they did based on their understanding of her condition and what the whole family's future will be like, should she reach full maturity. I can't make a call on whether or not it was right...but it's not for me to make that decision, it's theirs and theirs alone. -
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Re: Elective Surgeries
Mon, January 8, 2007 - 4:43 PMInteresting that those of us faced with extremely tough scenarios are the one who are least judgmental.
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Re: Elective Surgeries
Sun, January 21, 2007 - 7:02 PMI think it's because we understand exactly what "walking a mile in her shoes" means.
My biggest issue with the type of elective surgeries mentioned in this post is who exactly is the surgery benefiting? The family, or the person? If it is for care-giver convenience, I have a hard time sanctioning it. I am not trying to judgethe parents, because I have no idea what they are dealing with, I am stating that I personally can't support it. If it is truely for the benefit of the individual, and that includes the safety of the caretakers, than I can understand why a surgery is done.
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