So strangers should just ignore kids who look like they may be mistreated because, maybe, just maybe they might be autistic.
Sorry I think the parents here are way too sensative..
Were there bruises.
I have a policy:
They are not my kids. Unless there are signs of obvious abuse and neglect (obviously SERIOUSLY malnurished and/or suspicious - as opposed to normal kid type - bruises), it’s none of my &#$*#&@ business!
I agree 100%. Cops were called to investigate the well-being of a child. They had a short, polite exchange with parents. End of story.
You try dealing with autism ... or retardation ... or some other mental illness/disability 24/7/365.
I agree. The cops were just doing their job. And did it well. And the other parents acted out of good faith with limited information.
Agree
Messy hair does NOT indicate “mistreatment”!!!
Sorry, I think YOU are way too budinski!
I agree. The people who called probably were not thinking of Autism. They likely did not call just because the hair was messy and the pants too short. They may have observed that the parents were not interacting with their son as much as expected when families are together at a park. People just don’t think neglect because of hair and pants. They had no way of knowing about Autism. I think the police handled this very well. I think the parents should be happy that there was someone observant enough to be worried that something might be wrong and cared enough to call.
We homeschooled our kids with powerful academic success. Hardly a day went by that my wife wasn’t questioned by strangers because the kids were out and about during school hours. As far as I am concerned people can mind their own damn business. Fortunately my wife handled those circumstances and not me. As you may well imagine. The world is full of useless busybodies. It most certainly does NOT require a whole village of idiots to raise a child.
I have a daughter who has a brain injury. She was 5 before she could talk. When she first started talking we gave her whatever she asked for.
Well, that just couldn’t be sustained and she had a meltdown when I said no to getting her a sida. I disn’t have money for it.
I have a severely autistic, non-verbal, self-injurious, 8-year-old daughter, and face many of the same issues.
Once, a young girl, probably about 12 years old, modeled for me what I think every ADULT should do when they see a parent in public with a child like this, and they have some concerns.
She didn’t call the police, she didn’t stay at a distance and give me a dirty look. She came over and talked to me and asked questions like - “Is she your daughter” and asked my daughter “Are you okay”?
Another great example was in a supermarket during a meltdown at an auto checkout and someone came over and offered to bag my groceries while I got her under control.
So yes, there are much better things to do then call the police ... it’s called getting involved personally and being a good neighbor, asking questions directly if you’re concerned and then offering help if you can, as these two Good Samaritans did.
It’d be a much better world all around if folks could follow those examples in situations like the one described in this post. For example, one could have walked over and said something like - “Pardon me, I’m just concerned about your child, is everything okay?” And then upon hearing about his condition, one could make a more informed decision as to whether any outside authorities needed to be involved.
Sure, one encounter with the police may not seem that troublesome - but just think about the added stress to these families caused by multiple such encounters that occur simply because they choose (as they should) to NOT cloister their special child in their homes, but try to help them learn to engage in public by bringing them to shops and parks, etc. So I implore everyone reading this to think about that before taking the easy way out by calling the police every time over the slightest concerns in these situations.
“I think the parents here are way too sensative..”
Here is the problem, if your kid is a paraplegic, it’s obvious to everyone who sees him what “his problem” is.
No so for kids with autism (kids ‘on the spectrum’).
Ponder these:
- dealing with the fact that family & friends can no longer “put up with” your son’s emotional outbursts at a restaurant or other family event.
- wouldn’t it be nice if your family could all go to church together?
- wouldn’t it be nice if you could have a baby-sitter who didn’t mind getting beat-up by your son, or one who didn’t mind when your son breaks their things, or pees on the floor when the sitter is around.
- etc. etc.
But yeah, we tend to be sensitive to “the looks”.
Let me know when you’ve walked a mile in shoes like ours...
sorry Kozak but you're wrong, DEAD WRONG......
So sorry that you just don't get it..........
It says that we are increasingly convinced that it is up to every onlooker to assume abuse rather than to give parents the benefit of the doubt when anything, even a child's hair, seems amiss—that this is good citizenship.
I am 66 years old and have never called the cops on anyone.
I love freedom.
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p.s. Your “about” page is a hot mess.
From the article:
It's abundantly less likely that they are monstrous abusers who are taking their victims out for a day of fun, in public, at the park.
As a parent of a couple of kids on the spectrum, I'm thankful that this has not happened to us. It could have, though.
So--since you know nothing about the subject of raising autistic kids, keep your ill-informed opinions to yourself.