Thank you Daniel-p. I was going to reply something similar. yadda, it really is unfair to blame the mother. Autism can be a very unpredictable condition. Some episodes can be "set off" by something as simple as a momentary change in routine. There's no way to know if he was being badgered, or if he just got wound up on his own.
Child dies because he did not want to go to the meeting
by VanillaMocha73 41 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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sunshineToo
The mother is not totally irreprehensible. She must have really upset her autistic son to cause him to be so violent that the police were needed.
I have an autistic student. You can upset autistic child just about doing nothing. I really feel for his mom. No matter what, this is still her baby. Very sad.
But what's this got to do with the meeting?
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PopeOfEruke
The whole thing started when the poor kid said he didn't want to go to the meeting.
Then for Christs' sake why didn't they let him stay home!!!
Bloody goddamn cult with their useless meetings.
Pope
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LoverOfTruth
It really is sad for the family. What a horrible thing to live with.
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VanillaMocha73
Basically, it is so sad that JWs view your "Christianity" level based on meeting attendance. The parents probably thought that they were saving their son by forcing him to attend meetings. I have watched autistic children before, and it was thought that my mother was mildly autistic as a child. It is very wrong to force them to do something unneccessary that troubles them so deeply.
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Nosferatu
Some JW parents can get pretty nutty when their child starts rebelling and refusing to go to meetings etc. I remember my mother taking to me and my sister with a piece of skipping rope when we were badly playing up once.
Very true. I recall the Thursday night I had my first athsma attack. I told my mother that I couldn't get ready for the meeting because moving would make my breathing worse. I was threatened with a beating.
Although the mother isn't to blame for the condition that her child is currently in, the JW "persistance" was likely what set the whole thing off.
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A Paduan
two or three officers were on top of Kevin as he lay on his stomach
that's the bit that causes it - it's a standard known problem that psych staff are aware of
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karnage
No matter how you put this... this was a true tragedy. Imagine what the spin would be if the autistic child had this happen while in the Kingdom Hall?!
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Sunspot
Autism can be a very unpredictable condition. Some episodes can be "set off" by something as simple as a momentary change in routine.
I raised an autistic grandson because my daughter was going to put him up for adoption when SHE couldn't handle his tantrums, stiffening out, refusal to eat, or to cuddle, or to even be held. He screamed uncontrollably for hours, only required 2-3 hours of sleep a night at BEST, had projectile vomiting and gagged on everything, and kept the neighbors awake all night with his banging the crib across the room AND the screeching bouts......all before six months of age. She was a young, single Mom, working for a living, and who had no CLUE on how to take care of this child.
When we took him....he would go into complete rages if my husband or me didn't comb our HAIR the way he liked...it would "set him off" and we never could figure out WHAT was causing it "this time". He was nonverbal til four years of age....so he couldn't "tell us" what was bothering him. The older HE got, the worse the behavior got. I won't even TRY and explain what that did to any social life or even what something as simple as grocery shopping with him entailed. You wouldn't believe it.
Autistics are KNOWN to be VERY strong physically.....when our g'son was TWO, we had to take him for a brainstem test and he had to be held down to be sedated. He took two adult doses of the meds and hubby tried to hold him so they could put the thingies on his scalp.....and the next morning my hubby had massive bruising on his arms, chest and thighs where g'son had resisted the attempts to hold him still so the test could be administered.
I could write a book about all that happened....so I can WELL imagine the life the family AND the boy had in trying to deal with his problems. Sometimes the "agencies" can only offer so much help and can't DO any more. We know all about THAT aspect. Unless you HAVE an autistic child....you cannot even imagine what it's like.
The tragedy about this boy is very sad.
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becca1
This is a tragedy no matter how you look at it.
It could have happened to anyone, regardless of religion.
Purps: this may have been the first time the boy was violent. Many families with disabled children keep them at home until they absolutly cannot handle them. Also, autism is not a psychiatric disorder. It's neurological and still very misunderstood.
Yadda: Autistic children can be easily "set off". It's unfair to adversely judge the mom.