Shrinking the disabled kids

[undergroundpanther]

For the convienence of the Parents of course...

NEW YORK - In a report published in a medical journal this month, two doctors describe a 6-year-old girl with profound, irreversible developmental disability who was given high doses of estrogen to permanently halt her growth so that her parents could continue to care for her at home.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15517226/

[Wonk]

1. Let me guess your next thread tonight... "Eating disabled kids"?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2599801

Do we really need this *tonight* ?

[undergroundpanther]

4. Than don't read it wonk

I don't care. I am not gonna tailor my posts for you.I will put up what I put up.Put me on ignore or just don't clickit.I'm not responsible for maintaining your mental state tonight.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NMMNG]

11. So sorry you find concerns over potential mistreatment of the disabled a downer

Maybe we can dig up a nice story about large breasted college girls for you. :sarcasm:

[silverweb]

2. Far more than "convenience" is involved.

The article explains the extreme pains the family, doctor, and ethics committee took to determine what was best for the patient.

Under such circumstances, I think it's a perfectly good thing.

[pnwmom]

3. At first I was appalled.

But now I'm not so sure. If this means that the girl can continue to be cared for at home by her parents, rather than be put in a nursing home -- maybe she's better off. She only has the cognitive development of an infant -- does she need the body of an adult? It's hard for me to judge those poor parents.

I don't know what the answer is, but I think the journal editors are correct -- this is an appropriate subject for debate.

[undergroundpanther]

5. I don't know how I feel about it.

I just hope it does not harm.

[SoCalDem]

6. I have a friend whose son is autistic

I have seen kids with autism, but Miles is the worst case scenario one can imagine. He's now15 and about 200 lbs..almost 6 ft tall..

My friend and her husband and the younger brother have worked so hard to care for him.. it just breaks your heart to see ..

They unfortunately make "too much money" for much assistance, and yet they are goinf broke paying for his care on their own.

They were advised to "give him up" and turn him over to the state, but they could not do that,..

the state would willingly pay thousands of dollars a month to take care of him BUT it would have to be in an institution..

the sad thing is this.. he's violent now, and my friend at 5'4", 125 lbs is no match for him, and her husband works two jobs so he's not around much..

She ages about 10 years for every 5..:cry:

[pnwmom]

7. We also have friends whose teenage son

is autistic. I don't know how long they'll be able to hold on.

[Blue-Jay]

8. Please C&P this to all your future threads.

[NMMNG]

9. I don't know

Things might be convenient while the child is cared for by the parents, but parents age and will not be able to care for the child forever. What then? You have a disabled individual who is chronologically 30, 40, 50 or even older and still in the body of a child (and with the cognitive skills of a child). If some other family member cannot care for them the likely option is a nursing home or group home of some kind. Considering that most other residents of such facilities will be of normal size this individual will be at a considerable disadvantage and be at risk physically. However most facilities that handle children would be unlikely to take a person who is chronologically middle aged.


Then there's the possibility that the treatments may be proven dangerous at some point down the road. Do the risks outweigh the benefits?