They haven’t seen my hair.
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..
But the fact remains that “the police were called on us because my son was having a bad hair day. What does this say about our society?”
That’s what it says.
The problem is busy-body strangers.
People deliberately comb it messy these days
They were lucky the CPS Gestapo didn’t swoop in and destroy them.
I understand the parents anger, as much as I, someone with no children could understand it. I have worked with many autistic individuals, so I have some experience being in a public setting with them.
Of course, it was upsetting to have some invisible busy-body tattling on you w/o knowing the facts. The reality is sometimes there really is abuse going on. Think six weeks ago, when the world found out about those 13 brothers and sisters who had been tortured and hidden for years.
Many commenters were asking ‘Why didn’t somebody say something after all that time?”
There has been a heavy wave of drug addicts for the last few years. Many of these addicts are young and have small children. Some of the worst cases of neglect and abuse have occured in such situations.
It’s easy for me to say ‘try not to take it personally’ because I’m not there, and it’s not my child. But this may be the best perspective. Be thankful that the Officers used common sense and backed off. If the parents had over reacted with anger, that would have bloomed into yet another situation, one that could have put them behind bars or at least in tight cuffs for a while.
I always say se something out of order don’t ignore it. the cops were completely right to ask just a few questions. and it sounds as if they did the little bit of investigating that could prevent something horrible happening to a kid. I would rather have a cop ask a stupid question and investigate something that is a nothing then not ask and inquire after someone thinks something is not right.
Left 20 years of working with SED (severely emotionally
disturbed) kids in a residential Tx facility. I can
identify with being happily excited over things that
don’t happen. Lots of our kids had different levels
of autism.
Miss some kids, enjoy retirement.
And of course, the parents didn’t have the right to know who the accusers were because there’s no Constitution.
The parents should have told the cop theirs a reason the kid’s name is Einstein.
Effing jerks. My son with autism had a tantrum in McDonald’s one day and kicked his dad to the point of injury (dad had a severely bruised hand for weeks). Some idiot asked an employee to call the cops because of child abuse. The employee had the guts to come see what was going on and rightly chose not to get the police involved.
It is very difficult to take kids with autism into public. Please think twice when you see kids with issues. My son was so smart he would even yell “this is not my mom!” when he was tantruming in a store, and I was dragging his butt out, knowing that was what he SHOULD yell if he were being kidnapped.
And one night the neighbors in the apartment below came up in their pajamas and demanded to see the baby that I wasn’t torturing him. I was only trying to put his pajamas on him, which he did not want.
Life with a kid with autism is 300% harder than life with a kid without autism. I agree that the public needs to consider this possibility when they see a conflict with a child, or a child with weird clothes or hair.
Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.”
Apparently these idiots that called the cops never tried to comb a kid’s hair.
Requires a bribe, a sleeper hold, and some amount of super power.
Austin- Texas’ Sh!thole City.
They are lucky they got nice cops. I’ve read so many horror stories that started just like this.
Between the busibody caller, the dispatcher who may or may not be an idiot, to the cops who may or may not be idiots or juiced on steroids, distortions occur that can lead to tragedy. Maybe we will soon be able to text pics/video to 911. I wonder if that would help.
Mixed feelings...glad that some people care, but not happy at the conclusions sometimes jumped to.
He would be cared for in the Netherlands.....
Send him there...
The officer looked shocked and said, "Um, we got a call that someone was here with a battered child and you were pointed out". Well, we went to the Kids section and I introduced him to my Scoobie covered son. It was obvious to the officer that the Band-Aids weren't covering injuries since a couple of them had come loose and been stuck on again at a different angle or were just in a row down his arm, etc.
He actually got ticked off because he knew I had pushed the issue about abused kids once when a foster care family was involved and it led to three people going to jail after seven current and former foster care kids testified about being abused (there were more but they were either very young or didn't want to testify).
People can make honest mistakes like when they see a black eye and a cut on a child's face, multiple bruises on both arms when the kid plays football or wrestles which often leads to bruising on young kids, is into BS Kung Fu fights (that was a fad for a while leading to many broken bones and nasty looking injuries from kicks to the face), etc. But a four year old covered in Scoobie Band-Aids and a child with messy hair are instances of someone trying too hard to be 'concerned' (in my experience to impress whoever they're with) and sucking up the time of officers who could be doing something more useful.
JMHo
Proper response:
“I do not want to be engaged”
“I do not answer questions from law enforcement or agents of the state without the presence of my attorney”