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Category: Raising Special Needs Children

When a 911 call goes wrong!

Each Wednesday morning, a group of special needs parents join together to pray for other special needs families and ourselves. This past Wednesday morning, we lifted in prayer, Linden Cameron. Linden is the 13-year-old diagnosis with Asperger (a form of Autism), who suffered injuries to his shoulder, ankles, intestines, and bladder after being shot for emotional/mental meltdown by cops.

Yet many cry foul when we say its time to defund the police. Generally, many associated the defunding with”Black Live Matters.” However, this case highlights fears special needs parents of every race, financial background, and educational level fears. The worst nightmare came to life for Ms. Barton this past Friday when she sought assistance from the crisis team.

More Community Base Services Are Needed!

If the crisis team had arrived, they would have known the word and techniques to deescalate the situation. We may never find out why only cops showed up. But if there was a need to shift funds to a worthy department, this incident makes the argument a slamdunk and shut case.

As a mother of a child 12-year-old child whose testing has been delayed for Asperger but suffered from emotional and trauma-related issues that frequently lead to physical outbursts, it leads to increased unnecessary worries and fear each time I need to make a 911 call. Though I will say that we have been blessed thus far during our encounters, what if we meet a cop with a trigger happy finger one day? What if a little boy with suicidal idealization provokes a cop to shot him? What if the cop had killed Linden, who was running unarmed? How would we deal if this your child or mine?

Many police departments need retraining to deal not only with the brown and black community in the community they serve but those diagnosed with Autism and mental health issues.

Boy with autism shot by police after his mom called 911 for help

As our Child age…

So as we get older and our child age, we asked ourselves what will happen when we can’t take care of our children anymore? Who will? Will they be ok?

These questions become a growing list of worries as child and parent both age. In NYC, the support drastically changes once they age out of school at 21. The new system, believe home care is the answer. But is it?

Many parents struggle with the daily challenges of raising their children, maintaining a home and paying bills. Many marriages fall apart because the struggle is real and one party can’t cope or accept their child’s diagnose. The mental and physical health of the parent(s) deteriorates due to lack of support, isolation, physical neglect.

The Struggle is real!

For many, we keep our child close to us as possible. Fearful to have them around anyone because they won’t be understood. Fearful of the reaction to others if they have a crisis or meltdown in public. Fearful of the ignorant comments we may receive by those who are judgemental without a clue. But by isolating our children are we really preparing them for the real world. By isolating ourselves, we become unaware of the pitfalls and danger to our own mental state.

To place or not to place

There are programs, for the server medical or challenging behaviors. Most of them are residential others are day programs. For the day program, we are a lot more accepting of them. For our child leaves our home, goes to a school fully equipt to meet their needs and then return to less than half equipt setting at home. See they need more than our love and presence. The need a fully structured program to train and teach them the skills we haven’t been able to teach. But to send them to someplace else we first have to understand that true love of our child, is not doing what is comfortable or expected so save face. True love is admitting when we are in over our heads and accept we are no longer capable of giving our child the care and love that need in totality.

Follow “As the child age…” continues discussing next the path of residential placement rational.

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