-
TV Interview about Kyle's Attack by Caregiver (updated)
- Jun 7, 2009 at 7:11 PM
- By
- Comments (9) Total Views (300) Everyone can see this journal post.
Here is the link to the video I recorded from the broadcast. As soon as they post the actual video on their site I will update the link.
They focused on the pictures in the video and a source told me the actual TV report was amazing and a tearjerker. Jason and I were able to tell Kyle's story and it felt empowering to say the least. I feel change in the air!!! I can't wait to share it with you all and to send it to anyone and everyone that will listen. My cause now has over 1000 members and I do believe this will get the national attention and outrage it deserves! Thank you Tericared for helping me fight the hard fight. I will update later tonight!
http://myarklamiss.com/content/fulltext/?cid=40582
Comments:
1-9 of 9 comments
1
Jun. 7, 2009 at 11:41 PM
I cant get the link to work...:(
Jun. 8, 2009 at 7:14 AM
I spoke to reporter and they will have actual tv report up this morning. I received calls all night and everyone said we did well and really got our point across. There is definitely outrage in my community now.
Jun. 8, 2009 at 8:32 AM
Added a "homemade" video until they post the link to the actual video.
Jun. 8, 2009 at 11:49 PM
That was great. people are gonna see this and be outraged....
Jun. 9, 2009 at 1:11 AM
As a mother of a child who has High Functioning Autism, this utterly and completely ticks me off. I cannot believe that a caregiver, a person who is trained, paid, and employed to care for special needs children would do this! What tericared said was right. People are going to be outraged by what the caregiver had done. I hope all goes well for the stricter punishments! You have my full support on this.
And thank you so much for posting your story about Kyle for all of us to see!
Jun. 10, 2009 at 1:43 AM
I am thinking about your son Kyle and he and your family is in our prayers. I will be sending this message out to many peoples attention also. I am an advocate for individuals on the spectrum and their families and I also have a son with special needs. Thank you for sharing this.
Take Care
Jan. 4, 2010 at 3:24 PM
This is Kyle's story. Do not forget him; what he and his family went through. No person should be treated this way. The vulnerable, like Kyle and S.M. are prone to abuse because they cannot speak to defend themselves, nor alert others. We, the Public, must be their voice! Children and vulnerable individuals with developmental differences are the same as everyone else and deserve to be respected and kept safe from harm. Please, please, do not allow those who injure and neglect children with disabilities to escape justice! For S.M. it is already too late, but for others there is yet hope:
The story of S.M.
**names changed due to publication ban
http://www.edmontonsun.com/ "What Happened to Allison?"
What happened to Allison?
Mom gets inquiry into how her disabled daughter, who had been in foster care, died
By ANDREW HANON, SUN MEDIA
Six months after Helen finally got her daughter back, after more than a decade in a foster home, the 13-year-old girl was dead.
And now, two years after putting Allison to rest, Helen is finally getting the fatality inquiry that she was originally told she had no right to.
Allison, who had a rare genetic disorder that left her physically and mentally disabled, weighed 60 pounds when she died less than two weeks after her organs abruptly began shutting down.
The precise cause of her death was not determined, but Helen is convinced that it was a direct outcome of nearly 12 years in foster care, where Helen claims her daughter was subjected to physical and emotional abuse, neglect and virtual starvation.
(Alberta's child welfare legislation forbids publishing any information that might reveal the identity of children who have been in government care, so all of the family's names in this story have been changed.)
In the six months Allison was back with her family, her mom says, she had gained 10 pounds, was interacting with her family and "flourishing."
"She was skeletal before that," Helen says.
In 2007, Children's Services conducted an internal investigation of Allison's death, but according to a letter from deputy minister Maria David-Evans to Helen, "the comprehensive review ... did not indicate a direct link between her time in foster care and her subsequent death."
David-Evans added, "please recognize that (Child and Family Services Alberta) has done everything it can to respond to your concerns, and that we now consider the matter to be closed."
But Helen wasn't satisfied. She wanted a public fatality inquiry, which the law requires whenever a child dies while in foster care. She was told because Allison died after coming home, she had no legal right to one.
But she found a legal loophole - the agreement that put Allison in foster care had never been rescinded, so technically she was still in the care of the Crown when she died. Now Helen will soon get her public inquiry. The date has yet to be set.
Helen was pregnant with Allison when she, her husband Dan and their two-year-old son moved to Alberta from Ontario in 1993.*
Allison was still a newborn when doctors determined her genetic abnormality, warning the shocked parents that their daughter would remain an "imbecile" for the rest of her life.
A social worker soon appeared, urging the young family to give up Allison to a foster home, where the government would pay for services the young family couldn't afford if they kept her.
"She told us we had to do it quickly, while she was still young and cute," Helen says.
They signed a "public guardianship agreement," a rare, voluntary arrangement where Allison was placed in a foster home but went home for visits.
"There was no child protection order. (Allison) was taken from a middle-class home filled with love and devotion," Helen says.
"It was never easy. No one ever told us what our rights were, and we didn't want to step on anyone's toes."
Visits were only held whenever convenient for the foster family, she says, notably when they wanted a break or were planning a family vacation.
Things turned ugly in 2001 as Allison became older and bigger. She began showing signs of bruising and other injuries, which were always explained away.
"(The foster mom) would imply she was being bullied at school," Helen says. "But when I talked to the school they'd say she arrived with the bruises."
Over the years she lived with her foster family, Helen says, Allison had seven broken bones, including a broken femur which the foster mom said happened when Allison was being lifted out of bed.
"They said her bones were brittle, but when we talked to a doctor he said there was nothing wrong with her bones," Helen says.
She says she complained to social workers, but was continually told nothing was wrong.
Soon a mediator was involved and the parents and foster parents had no direct contact with each other.
It wasn't until 2006 that she discovered she could get her daughter back any time.
"No one told us," she says, "and we couldn't afford a lawyer."
But Helen says after Allison died, she began gathering her daughter's medical and school documents which, Helen says, clearly show the abuse and neglect.
Helen now has three boxes of paperwork she wants to present at the inquiry.
A teacher's aid log from Allison's school recorded one day when Allison began vomiting at school and the foster mom was called to pick her up.
"When (the foster mom) came to get (Allison), she was furious that she wasn't on the bus and (said) that she was not sick," the entry reads.
"When (Allison) started to vomit again (the foster mom) had her hand and shook her and told her to stop it."
Future Fatality Inquiries dates to be scheduled:
|
S.M.** On December 3, 2006, S.M. was transported to hospital after a period of illness. S.M. was born with Tetrasomy 18p (Isochromosome 18p), a rare chromosomal disorder.
|
** The Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act prohibits publishing the name of the child.
Be aware of warning signs. The Child may:
• be underweight, dehydrated, emaciated or have a distended stomach
• show improvement of developmental delays following proper stimulation and care
• demonstrate signs of deprivation: cradle cap, severe diaper rash, diarrhea, vomiting, anemia, recurring respiratory problems
• be consistently dirty or dressed inappropriately for weather, or wear torn clothing
• often be hungry or thirsty
• often be tired or listless
• demand much physical contact and attention
• assume role of parent or adult in the family
• lack proper medical and dental care
• have poor hygiene
• have unattended medical or dental problems such as infected sores, decayed teeth, lack of needed glasses
1-9 of 9 comments
1
Want to leave a comment and join the discussion?
Already a member? Click here to log in
I cant wait to see it...
- tericared
Message Friend Invite