Court TV and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) etc...very intersting

[DDD]

I don't know who still watches that channel but I happened to put it on at work this week and it is really interesting. A teenage girl who was chained to her bed each night died as a result of smoke inhalation from a house fire. The parents are on trial for her death.

The most interesting part is that her parents defense is that she had Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and they did what had to be done for her protection and the protection of the family. This afternoon they had a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) expert from Michigan who gave the most compelling overview of our children on the spectrum.
I wish I had been able to hear each word (work made that impossible) but she is not related to the case at all. Her overview of children in that realm was mindboggling. How I wish we all had access to that lady. She is the first fully informed person I have been exposed to.

Should you all have time to watch tomorrow maybe, just maybe, they will replay her testimony
and you'll learn some new things too. Evidently Michigan is a step ahead. DDD

 

[klmno]

I suppose the laws vary from state to state on this as most laws do, but I think this is pretty typical- it is my understanding that it is illegal for a parent or school to lock a child up in a room that is not designated a safe place or otherwise physically detain them not only because of the risk of crossing that "abuse" line, but also because of preventing rescue in case of emergency. I knew of one family here that had a young difficult child and needed to lock him in his room during normal sleeping hours- it is ok if special permission and contact with emergency fire officials is established first. Otherwise, it was illegal. I would think that most parents of a child who had a specific diagnosis or safety issue that warranted a physical restraint like that on a child would have some communication with a therapist or psychiatrist- and while I am fully aware that the therapist or psychiatrist might not be able to provide a solution or anything more than trial and error tips, they should have told these parents that if there is that much concern for someone's safety the parents need to contact police and fire dept or dss to get that special permission. It wioll be interesting to see how this case turns out.