According to news.yahoo.com, an autistic boy was lost and alone in the San Bernadino mountains for more then twenty-four hours. He will not be returning to his family but will be in protective custody because of an unrelated incident. The child's family tethered him to a railing in front of a house that the were moving from.
When I first read this article I was upset with the child protective agency and the child's school. As I read on I became more and more outraged. This emotion no longer was towards the agency but towards the family.
At first when reading the article, I was slightly upset with the child protective agency and the child's school. According to the article the child ran away from the school and got lost in the mountains in CA. It is the schools responsibility to keep our children safe. The child should not have been able to run away from the school in the first place. Why weren't the teachers watching him. I was upset that the family was being punished for what the school had neglected to do, keep him safe. As I read further, I found out the reason why the boy was put into protective custody. Apparently, the family was moving out of their house due to being foreclosed on. The child protective service workers found out that the couple tethered the autistic boy to a railing so that he wouldn't run away. This outraged me. I do not understand what the parents were thinking. I have no sympathy for these people. It doesn't matter if the child is autistic or not. No matter how tempting it may be. A child should never be tied to a railing.
My emotions went from slightly upset to being furious as I read this article. I hope the best for this child and I hope that he will go to a foster home that will love him and treat him well.
As I share your sentiments regarding this issue, I don't have a "link" to the original article you read. Another thing to think about is maybe the parents only had him tethered for a short period of time while they completed some important tasks. Maybe he just simply couldn't be left alone, but you are right about the school, they should have been watching him. They should have made sure he was there to be picked up by his parents. It is scary to think that a special needs child could be easily left to wander the wilderness.
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