Hello to all: Devin has sure been making some progression in the last few months. We took him out of public school as he was having so many issues there. They had no idea how to care for him. They based everything on Autism and Downs Syndrome as this is what is most prevalant. He is very autistic, but not Downs Syndrome. The school decided that Devin had a behaviour problem and called in a so-called behavior specialist and her recommendations were : If he sits down and refuses to walk, we will put a Refrigerator Box around him, where he can’t see anybody and nobody can see him, and then we he decides to stand up and walk they would remove it! Now please, someone tell me how this could actually be something you would want them to do to your child? When I found out, I was livid and demanded a meeting and let them know they were to NEVER do this again! After that, I was on the bad parent list. They thought I was just spoiling Devin and letting him have his way. After all of this Devin became chlosterphobic and refused to be in confined places. I had to take the shower doors off of our bath, just to get him in there and then it would take both me and my husband. Prior to that he loved baths, and by the way, he is back to that point after a year and a half! The last straw was when they called the first day of Summer school to tell me he was having a bad day and scraped his knee, and he came home on the bus with both legs bleeding, both elbows and will probably have scars for the rest of his life from it.. He refused to go in the school from the bus and they dragged him across the concrete. It took weeks for it to heal and I called the Dept. of Children and Families and after their investigation, they decided that Devin self-injured himself! Devin has never hurt himself ever, so I knew that I had to protect him and so I took him out and put him in a hospital – home based facility that provides daily care from 6am-6pm Mon-Fri. It was very hard at first, because he was so traumatized by the school that he needed time for the trust to know that they were not going to hurt him. Well, he has made some huge leaps and bounds there in the year that he has been there. He loves going and will show his joy when we get there. No more (3) people to get (1) small, very strong child in or out of the car! He gets in and out by himself now! He is up to 85#s at the ripe age of 17 ! He is sitting at the table coloring, doing puzzles, his vocabulary is getting better! Overall, he is doing great! My heart still aches to think that someone hurt my special little boy that has had to put up such a fight just to survive! I knew the minute that his demeanor at home changed that something was wrong! His latest is when the phone rings, he will run and answer it and say “Hello” and then just laugh… Great when Solicitors call!! Ha! Everyday is a new day and he continues to thrive.. I am so thankful to have this time to share with you all!
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Thank you for sharing your story. What a traumatic experince for the whole family. I love how he answers the phone! Awesome!
I cannot imagine what you and Devin have gone through. However, I am happy to hear that he is thriving now in his new environment. May he continue down this road of progress!
My heart breaks for what he went through. I am so sorry! What age did he start school? Did he love school up until that point? I love the teachers that Taylor has right now. She started once she turned 3. We had our yearly meeting a few days ago and they do not think she is ready to attend pre-k yet so she will be with them for another year but then after that she will start a new school. I’m scared of it. I have that fear of her getting a teacher that is burned out on their job and their heart is just not in it anymore. I want Taylor to enjoy school and I want her to have teachers like she has now that I know love and care about her just as their own. She got bit on the face last week and as her teacher was telling me what happened, she just started crying and it made me feel good to know that her teacher cared enough about Taylor that it hurt her that Taylor got hurt. I am glad to hear that he is loving where he is now. One more question. Does he interact with other kids where he is now?
It sounds like Devin is an interesting person. It makes me sad to hear about his bad experiences at school. You make a good point. Since WHS is uncommon, care of our children is not based on their needs. Rochelle is 32 now. I spent much of her time in school arguing over foolish things like your box story. Rochelle also sat down frequently and refused to get up. It was her way of saying, “I am tired”. It required a compassionate response, not ridiculous discipline. Staff were not able to see that her health care needs had to be given priority over education and discipline needs. Rochelle attended a regular school and was include in a regular classroom, but eventually we chose a special school for children who were medically fragile. I wanted her to be in an inclusive setting but it became unsafe. I look forward to hearing more about Devin. Most of the children I read about on the site are young. Devin is half way between them and Rochelle. The challenges change with age.