TALENTED MOTHER TRAINED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT PINPOINTS THE TRUTH

COERSIVE OT HELD RESPONSIBLE Now one thing I must tell you about my daughter is that anytime, past or present, that she ever gets upset is when there is something wrong with her that she can't get someone to understand or if someone puts their hands on her and forces her to do something, and on this day, she reacted to the OT grabbing her by the wrist and force leading her to the puzzle.

The OT took her by the wrist, lead her to the area in which she had the puzzle, and sat her down. She did not give her the first opportunity to do it on her own. My daughter is very willing and able to sit down, all you have to do is to pat the floor or chair and request her to sit and she will comply if she hasn't been scared or intimidated. This OT wouldn't know this because she had never tried to do it the right way first, which is obvious in how she had been doing it her way all the while she had been going to therapy.

So I watched as my daughter became upset at the fact that the OT all of a sudden seen fit to lay hands on her to get her to go to the area the puzzle was. I saw right away that she had always done it this way with my daughter because of my daughter's reaction to it. Only then did my daughter become upset and the moment she did, the OT put my daugher over her lap, laying her stomach down so she was laying across the OTs crossed legs, and the OT proceeded to do the hand over hand technique and made my daughter stay there until the last piece of that puzzle was in place, not once trying to console her or try to bring her down from her upset state the OT provoked her into. This upset me deeply.

During this time of restraining my daughter, she had one arm under her body, all the while my daughter crying to the point that she was gagging and choking on her own mucus and tears, and with the other hand doing the hand over hand thing. My daughter in NO way was getting anything out of this and this OT continued this until she had every piece of that puzzle in place, which wasn't even my daughter doing any of it, the OT was the one putting the pieces in place.

Well, before I had even witnessed any of this, my husband and I decided days before to pull her out of OT because we felt she didn't need it any longer, that she didn't have the issues one has that requires OT. She has perfect balance, she is plenty able to sit without assistance, in fact, our daughter has NO physical issues that a lot of autistic children do. So after the session I called the OT over and told her we wanted to end the sessions, but I asked her if she saw something there I didn't that may warrant her to need to continue the sessions. The OT told me my daughter had significant issues blah blah blah and all this other mumbo jumbo talk of things I knew this OT didn't know about because I knew my daughter didn't have all these issues the OT was trying to have me believe she had. Why heck! My daugher has fell all of 6 times in her life and exhibits nothing what the OT claims she does. Well, I would end the sessions anyway because of what I had witnessed that very day. I didn't say a word to her about how I felt about her actions with my daughter because I was in such shock over what I saw that I knew I would end up making a very big scene if I were to try and confront her about it. I also knew that there would be the ever so famous explanation all therapist's are programmed to give should a parent object to such actions, so I didn't bother and thought to just write it off and get out of there before I did do something I would regret.

So I gave myself a few days to cool off, and on Monday morning I called.........and told the lady that answered to not expect us back there. She asked for a reason and I told her what I had observed and told her I did NOT condone restraint on any child, so she asked if I would like for the director to call and talk with me about it. I knew where that would go, but I said fine, if they wanted to , but my mind was made up

Well, I received a call from the OT instead. She asked me why I decided to pull my daughter out and I told her. These are just a few questions I had for her and her answers:

Q: What was the reason for the restraint on my daughter? A: To get her to comply and do the task (finish the puzzle). She was not restrained at all.

Q: What do you call what you did, forcing my daughter down in your lap, holding her down with your one arm while you forced her hand into yours while YOU put those pieces of that puzzle together, if it wasn't restraint? A: That is a technique all therapist's use should a child not be in compliance.

Q: In your opinion, what would you say would be the reason why she wasn't complying with you? A: Your daughter has SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS and any one of her senses could have become overloaded and caused that behavior.

Q: So you don't think that anything you did caused her to act that way? A: NO

Q: I observed all activity between you and her. From the beginning of the session until the end. You didn't lay one hand on her up to the point of the uzzl, do you agree with this? A: Silence.

Q: At no time did you force her to stay with you prior to the puzzle and many times I have seen my daughter going from one thing to another and you would allow her to roam to one thing to the other until it was time for the puzzle. This is when you took her by her wrist (the trigger) and forced her to go with you to that puzzle. This is what caused her behavior. You provoked her into this behavior you claim makes her have SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, blaming her for this BEHAVIOR as you call it, but in fact, she was going into total meltdown and you blamed HER for this. ......

NOT ONCE did you try and bring her down, instead, you restrained her and forced her to stay with you until YOU, not her, finished that puzzle. If you wanted HER to do something, don't you think that you should have maybe ASKED her to sit, which she is PERFECTLY capable of doing had you ASKED her instead of forcing her and scaring the bejeezus out of her, and when she was in meltdown, instead of labeling it as behavior problems, you should have recognized it for what it was, a total meltdown due to your actions. A: She was not restrained but rather held in position because this position is helpful to her to build her muscle tone so she will be able to sit in a chair for long periods of time.

Q: What????? You have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Are you new telling me that my daughter lacks the ability to support herself in order to sit in a chair??? ******I PROCEED to go on to tell her how odd I find it that my daughter has the ability to walk a three inch back of a couch and not ever fall off, can sit at the table to eat at home and other places whatever time it takes to finish her meal, has better balance that any 7 year old I know, and she is really mistaken in her mind if she thinks I am to believe that is why she had her in that sort of hold? So I point out that she just got finished saying that she had her in that hold because she was acting out more or less, then she states that it is to help some phantom problem she feels my daughter has with muscle tone.

Q: What is the protocol for when a child does have a meltdown? A: We use redirection.

Q: OK, so why wasn't there any redirection for my daughter when she was obvioiusly in meltdown? A. The puzzle was the redirection.

Q: It was? Well, it is obvious that you made it a habit to restrain her this way each and every time you had her to do the puzzle. Is this not the case? A: Yes, I would do that when it was time to do the puzzle because she wouldn't sit to do it.

Q: Have you ever tried just asking her to sit down and do it, or would you always just take her by the wrist and lead her to it whether she wantd to or not? A: I would have her in my lap every time because she wouldn't sit to do it.

I am her Mother, I know my daughter well, and I am telling you that there is NO WAY that you will convince me that it happened any other way than what I just told you how it happened. This is why she is having issues with the puzzle when she had no other meltdowns the entire time I watched you with her, because that was the only time you layed your hands on her was when the puzzle came out. You scared my daughter the very first time you ever did that puzzle with her by taking her by the wrist, arm, or whatever other part of her body you took her by to get her to it, so every time after that she associated that puzzle with a bad thing. And you are telling ME that SHE has SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS when it was YOU who brought on that behavior. ****I proceeded to let her in on my bing a daycare provider and gave her many examples of when I have unintentionally held a child down too long when tickling them or playing, too long for their comfort and they got upset because they would begin to get scared as to why they weren't able to get up when THEY wanted to. So in order for my daughter to have these SBP as she says my daughter has because of the way she acted when she was being forced into this woman's lap would have to say children have these SBP because I have seen MANY a child freak when they were put into very similar situations such as my daughter was in. So if a typical child would react with fear, how much more would an autistic child do?

Throughout the whole conversation, whenever I would question over and over why she didn't try and calm my daughter down, she would tell me she wasn't going to argue with me about it, that she could have the one that owned the service to call me, and I told her I didn't want to talk with her, that SHE was the one working with my daughter, that how could the owner possibly have anything to do with it?

Needless to say, I am VERY upset to know that the very things I witnessed from this OT and the other OT the school system sent to my house are the very things one should look out for from a questionable service or person. There was a great deal more shocking things this OT had to say to me when questioned about what I witnessed, but I would be here all day typing if I were to go into it. I just regret I didn't tape our conversation, which I usually do wheneveer I have to confront such things.

So anyway, this is my story. Now that my daughter has been withdrawn from these two services, she now has no other ones to go to until we find a reputable one that won't do harm to her. I wish I knew what to do. All these therapists and places were highly recommened, if they can't be trusted what is a Mother to do? She gets therapy here at home by me, which has proven to be the best therapy that she had gotten thus far. (Reported July 2005)