Stealing an autistic child from his home

Has anyone out there seen this? Very disturbing -- from Sunday's Orange County Register -- Opinion writer Steven Greenhut.

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Sunday, February 17, 2008
Child abuse by the government
Government rips an autistic boy from his home because it prefers a different treatment than the one offered by the parents.
STEVEN GREENHUT
Sr. editorial writer and columnist
The Orange County Register

What kind of society rips a 17-year-old autistic boy from his loving home and places him in a state-run mental institution, where he is given heavy doses of drugs, kept physically restrained, kept away from his family, deprived of books and other mental stimulation and is left alone to rot?

Certainly not a free or humane one.

Yet that's exactly what has happened to Nate Tseglin, after a teacher called Child Protective Services, the county agency charged with protecting children from many forms of abuse and given power to remove children from their family homes in certain circumstances. The teacher reported seeing self-inflicted scratches on Nate's body and complained about the doctor-approved arm restraints his parents used to keep Nate from hurting himself. Nate remains in Fairview Developmental Center (formerly Fairview State Hospital) in Costa Mesa, labeled a danger to himself and others, while his parents fight a lonely battle to bring their son back home.

Isn't there anyone out there who can help them?

After the complaint, social workers intervened and decided that the judgment of a psychologist who examined Nate's records but never even met the boy trumped a lifetime of treatment and experiences by his parents, Ilya and Riva Tseglin. Without prior notice, "the San Diego Health and Human Services agency social worker, with the aid of law enforcement, forcibly removed a struggling and terrified autistic boy … from his home, while his mother and father, who are Russian Jewish immigrants, and Nate's younger brother stood by helplessly," according to the complaint the parents, who have since moved to Irvine to be near Nate, filed with the court.

The forced removal came after the Tseglins came to loggerheads with the government over Nate's proper treatment. The parents are opposed to the use of psychotropic drugs and argue that Nate has had strong negative reactions to them. They point to success they've had with an alternative, holistic approach that focuses on diet and psychiatric counseling. The government disagreed, so it took the boy away from home and initially placed him in a group home – where he had the same negative reaction to the drugs that his parents predicted would happen.

Of course, once social workers are involved in a family, they are reluctant to relinquish their power – something I've found in every Child Protective Services case I've written about. And even though the court determined "the evidence is clear that the parents have always stood by and tried to help their son," the court sided with the government. That's another common theme from these closed family-court proceedings – the social workers' words are taken as gospel, and the parents are treated like enemies and given little chance to defend themselves.

The details are complicated and discouraging. But, essentially, the parents were cut out of any decision-making regarding their son. They were given only short visits with him. After he ran away from the group home, the government transferred Nate to a mental hospital. The Tseglins say the drugs the hospital gave Nate caused him to have a "grand mal" seizure, and his health has continued to deteriorate while he languishes in a government mental facility. When they visited him over the summer, they found his face swollen. He faded in and out of consciousness and was suffering from convulsions. They believe he has been beaten and are worried about sexual abuse, given that he is housed with the criminally insane.

The Tseglins claim Child Protective Services has told them they have the "wrong set of beliefs" and even threatened to force them to undergo court-ordered psychological evaluation. The agency at one point suspended the parents' visitations as a way "to assist them in coming to grips regarding their son." The Tseglins, as former citizens of the Soviet Union, have good reason to be fearful of the authorities. But they tell me that they experienced nothing of this sort in the former communist nation. If their descriptions are correct, then the Soviets weren't the only ones who know how to create a totalitarian bureaucracy.

The family's legal argument is persuasive:

"Riva and her husband have cared for Nate, in their home, for his entire life, until he was dragged kicking and screaming away from his parents. … The court found that it was very impressive that the parents 'were able to maintain Nate in the home for the better part of a decade when he was having some severe behavioral difficulties.' … The court found further that when the parents put Nate on a 'more holistic approach' and ignored the professional opinions, that 'for a period of time, Nate responded very well to that.' Even though Nate subsequently deteriorated, the court found that he fared no differently using the more traditional medical approach.' …

"In short, this case turns on value judgments, such as whether it is preferable for Nate to be maintained in his own home, subject to occasional physical restraint, surrounded by the love and devotion of his parents and brother, or whether Nate should be placed in a locked facility, subject to occasional physical restraint and constant chemical restraint, surrounded by strangers and a burden to the California taxpayer. … The real issue in this case is that the agency and some medical personnel believe their opinions regarding Nate's treatment are better than the parents' choices, and have sought the judicial intervention to override the parents' decisions regarding their son."

In a free society, individuals and families get to make those judgments and decisions. As the Tseglins argue, "Riva has a right to raise her child, Nate, free from government interference, as long as he is not at risk of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect or exploitation."

Sure, the state can and does intervene when parents are accused of abusing or neglecting their children. There are many problems and injustices even in those cases, but at least it's understandable when the government intervenes to protect a potentially threatened child. But in this case, the state is simply saying that it knows best, that no matter how diligently a boy's parents have worked to provide the best-possible care for him, that officials get the final say. And the government's choice of mandatory incarceration seems harsh and cruel, which shouldn't surprise anyone, given the basic nature of government.

At last check, autism is not a crime. It's time to free Nate Tseglin and return him to the love and care of his parents.

Contact the writer: sgreenhut@ocregister.comor 714-796-7823

Stop the presses! You can treat autism through diet!

Yeah, there's a little sarcasm there. You may have seen this item from the Feingold organization circulating across webland. If not, save these links, print out the article and post it on the fridge. Yippee.

A doctor from Children's Hospital in Boston wrote an article for the American Academy of Pediatrics' AAP Grand Rounds publication on the impact that food additives have on people with ADHD. Those of us dealing with the spectrum know how additives, colorings and preservatives really can screw your day up.

So, here's the links for you to enjoy.

-- the actual AAP article is at this link: http://www.feingold.org/Research/PDFstudies/AAP08.pdf

-- a previous study on this issue published in Lancet, in the UK, is at this link: http://www.feingold.org/Research/lancet.html

-- the Feingold write-up on this is at this link: http://www.feingold.org/aap.html

-- Feingold's "Behavior, Learning and Health" publication is at this link: http://www.feingold.org/BLUEBOOK.pdf

I'm not a strict follower of Feingold but we certainly share many of its beliefs.

Autism and chiropractic help

You might find this interesting. It's a blog entry from a Colorado chiropractor about the use of chiropractic with autistic patients. We take our daughters to a progressive chiropractor for spinal adjustments using the Activator method, which uses less force to manipulate the spine. It's not necessarily the best, but it works for us and the kids don't object to it since it's not very intrusive. We believe this helps. We're also involved in some other treatments there, which I'll write more about later. They have helped (and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes). One treatment has helped my youngest daughter shed some of her food intolerances. Really. No "regular" docs were able to do that -- or even willing to try. The author of this is my brother, who you'll find is very informed. Enjoy.

Can Chiropractic Help Children With Autism?

(here's a paragraph - link to read the entire entry)

... A paper published in the March 2006 issue of Clinical Chiropractic reviewed past studies and found that children with Autism are helped with chiropractic care. Furthermore this study found that most children with Autism had problems with their upper cervical (neck) spine[10]. Another study found that 80% of children receive damage to their upper cervical spines due to birth trauma[11]. The upper cervical spine is so important that the two vertebrae located at t he top of the spine have their own names: Atlas and Axis. All the other 22 vertebrae just have numbers assigned to them such as the third thoracic vertebra and the fifth lumbar vertebra. The Atlas and Axis are so important that an entire chiropractic discipline, called Upper Cervical Chiropractic, was established by B.J. Palmer (the Developer of the Chiropractic Profession), simply to restore proper function to that area. Working with the Atlas and Axis directly effects the function of the nervous system. Autistic children have a neurological component to their disorder. It makes sense that Upper Cervical Chiropractic would help them...

Autism medicine research & a dose of skepticism

Nothing like a strong dose of skepticism to start the morning. Sorry folks, I'm very concerned about this. First, note the word "relieve" in the release. That, to me, means this would be like a cough medicine. If you give the medicine, your child's symptoms are relieved, but not cured. When the medicine wears off, they return. And, then, like other meds, there's other impacts. With my kids, the preservatives and dyes are problems. They cause behavior issues that are almost worse than the initial illness. Again, sorry, but I think this is the mainstream medical community seeking that "pop a pill" answer to autism rather than the complex treatments that actually make life-changing differences for many of us. Make up your own mind. You'll find the original release here.


INVESTIGATIONAL MEDICATION TO BE STUDIED IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 26 – Children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of five and 17 years are needed to participate in a research study looking at how a medicine called fluoxetine works to relieve the repetitive behavior and other symptoms associated with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The study will take place at the John Merck Child Outpatient Clinic and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

Researchers are looking for both children with autism and those who have symptoms of ASD. For the purpose of this study, fluoxetine is investigational. An investigational drug is one which has not been approved for this use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction skills, as well as the presence of stereotyped patterns of behavior. Many children with autism also experience challenging behaviors, such as overactivity, anxiety, irritability and agitation. The targeted behaviors for this study include:

· constant rocking, spinning, twirling or pacing
· repeating words or phrases over and over
· repeating activities such as going in and out of doorways, picking up and putting down objects
· insisting objects be in a precise order; or that they do things in a particular way or particular order, et cetera
· insisting parents or caregivers perform activities in the same manner over and over again
· asking the same questions or making the same requests over and over
· issues with any other type of repetitive behavior that interferes with daily function

The study will require nine visits, and additional visits may be scheduled if clinically indicated. Participants will be compensated for their time.

Will a new Autism brain center lead to new treatments?

Why is so much 'real' research, funding and general concern about autism among public officials happening everywhere but here?

Oxford Mail
Princess to open autism image centre
The Princess Royal will officially open the world's first brain imaging centre for autism at an Oxford hospital tomorrow.

A special scanner at the £2.3m centre at the university's Department of Psychiatry at the Warneford Hospital, Headington, will help Oxford University researchers study the brains of autistic children and adults, to look at how it functions as they complete tasks.

The technique will highlight how the brains of those with autism disorders differ from other people, and could lead to better treatments.

The Princess Royal will be shown the scanner and other facilities at the Oxford Neurodevelopmental Magnetoencephalography Centre.

While in the city, the Princess will also attend a Citizenship Ceremony at County Hall and join a meeting of the St Helena Diocesan Association at Pusey House.