Incompetent, Abusive, or both? - Scottish Executive policy and legislation on Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - `Autism Rights` Briefing Paper April 2007
`ATTACHMENT DISORDER` (RAD ), MSBP & VICTIMISATION
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1768759,00.html
ASBOs affecting `hidden disabilities`.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1489614,00.html
- Charity pleads for tolerance as autistic youngsters face Asbos Martin Bright, home affairs editor Sunday May 22, 2005 The Observer - BIBIC is the charity referred to.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6388865.stm
- Friday, 23 February 2007, 11:33 GMT 'Autism link' to Asbo youngsters
More than a third of children given Asbos have underlying brain disorders
such as autism, according to a survey. The study was carried out for the BBC with the Somerset charity for brain-injured children, Bibic.
http://www.parents-protecting-children.org.uk/news_doc_lb001.asp
- Lisa Blakemore-Brown's account of how MSBP got started.
EXCERPT 'Guidelines increasingly encourage social workers to see autism - and think
attachment disorder.' See also:-
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=239&a=2407
- The NAS was informed that the government had drawn up `guidelines` on MSBP that
overlapped with several of the international clinical criteria for autism. They held a meeting with a civil servant in the Department of Health, pasted this webpage on their website, and tried to `persuade` the government to change their guidelines (the latter information obtained in emails between myself and the NAS's PR person).
Note - no campaigning, no wish to embarrass the government into a change of policy, no desire to highlight such a flagrant violation of human rights (the only way to find this webpage on the NAS website is to do a search for `MSBP` it does not feature in the site map and cannot otherwise be navigated to).
- copied from the Herald - article about evidence by Paul Shattock to Scottish CPG re. parents who claim the MMR has caused their child's autism having their children taken away under an accusation of Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP). This talk was apparently given at the inaugural meeting of the CPG on ASD - when Lloyd Quninan MSP was the Convener.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=89252004
- if you read no other article on Professor Sir Roy Meadows and how he did what he did, PLEASE read this one. It includes how he came to prominence during the trial of Beverley Allitt, how he shredded his research notes on MSBP and comments from his ex-wife,who says he is a misogynist.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,23729-2195803,00.html
- The Times May 25, 2006 Secret witch-hunt syndrome Camilla Cavendish NEVER HAVE THE powers-that-be collected more information. But never has it been so difficult to find out what they know. It took months of questioning by an MP on the Public Accounts Committee to expose the foreign prisoner debacle; Whitehall twisted and ducked. Now another committee of MPs is being fobbed off in answer to a question that could prove to be of similar importance. The question may not sound like much. It is how many people are being accused by social workers of having the psychiatric disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MsbP).
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=892&id=94942004
- Scots families wrongly accused of abuse The Scotsman Mon 26 Jan 2004 TANYA THOMPSON HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT
Key points
• Scots mothers may have been wrongly accused of cruelty after diagnoses of Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, a disease named by Prof Sir Roy Meadow
• Meadow has testified against mothers at numerous high-profile trials
• Meadow spoke at a conference in Lanarkshire calling all cot deaths murder
Key quote: "The scandal in Scotland is that the children’s panel system, which we say is so wonderful, has let Scottish children down. Munchausen was seen as a clever theory and people were sucked in." Edinburgh solicitor Eric Scott
Story in full: AT LEAST 12 parents in Scotland have been accused of having the discredited condition Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, resulting in a total of 19 children being placed in care - two of whom have been adopted with no prospect of them ever returning home.
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=787&id=560902004
- 'Whitewash' fear over child abuse review The Scotsman Mon 17 May 2004
TANYA THOMPSONHOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT
THE Scottish Executive has been accused of a "whitewash" amid fears that a major review of child protection cases may never be published. Lawyers say the internal review has been shrouded in secrecy and are demanding ministers publish its findings.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2147749,00.html
Sunday 23rd April, Britain section The Sunday Times April 23, 2006
Innocent parents accused of abuse
Daniel Foggo
MPs say hunt for abusers may be out of control
INNOCENT parents are being falsely accused of abusing their children and threatened with having them taken into care, according to a report backed by MPs. An all-party group of MPs and peers is next month to meet Beverley Hughes, the minister for children, to discuss concerns that the hunt for potentially abusive parents might be out of control.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1258532.stm
- this revealed that a growing number of potentially autistic children have been placed on the Child
Protection Register
an article about how parents of children with autism have been accused of MSBP, and an unknown number have had their children taken away from them
http://www.parents-protecting-children.org.uk/news_doc_lb001.asp
Foot Note 2 Anti-social services – copied from the `Private Eye` Issue No: 1131 29 April - 12 May 2005
`It is hard to envisage more ignorant or unsympathetic treatment by the “caring
professions” than that meted out to the Storey family of Rayleigh, Essex.` -
I was on an email list with Debbie, and I know something of the background to this case, where she was accused of having MSBP and her two sons (who have Asperger's Syndrome) were placed on the children at risk register, because she and her husband were not willing to let their boys suffer dreadful bullying at school. The Daily Mail also covered this story on 3rd June 2005 (`Fatal Devotion`), after Debbie's death from renal cancer, which had not been diagnosed in time, because of lingering accusations about MSBP.
http://www.scottishabcd.co.uk/ABCDindex.htm
- surf this to see the psychiatric/ pharma/ genetics bias of the research group lineup. ABCD Newsletters links are available through this link.
The lead scientist for this study is none other than Prof. Chris Gillberg, who is giving his native Sweden a wide berth for now, for reasons that will become apparent when you read the next link:-
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7510/180-f
Gillberg fined by Swedish court
These are 2 weblinks on Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) found through Google:-
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2646.htm
- online medical journal's description of RAD.
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/attachment_disorder.htm
- Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) description - note the overlap with autism clinical
criteria, but the omission of autism amongst those disorders with which RAD might be confused.
http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/psychologicalmedicine/staff/HelenMinnis.htm
biog of researcher on ABCD study into autism and RAD
- conference associated with Prof. Gillberg and favouring the `pill popping` approach to managing ASD.
Of course, Gillberg gave his assurances at the Cross Party Group (CPG) that there was no intention to redefine autism as Reactive Attachment Disorder, or to resuscitate the `refridgerator mother` as an abusive mother (which would be awfully handy in fiddling statistics on autism incidence, even retrospectively), but the attached CPG Briefing Paper on the Scottish ABCD study tells a different story, as do the ABCD webpages. His presentation to the CPG claimed that the study would once and for all give a definitive answer to the question of the incidence of autism.
Cross Party Group briefing on Scottish ABCD study appr H.Minnis - 26 1 06.doc - see attachment
The research study presented to the Cross Party Group on ASD is a far bigger study than the Bjarne Holmes' study (which was featured in the Sunday Herald - http://www.sundayherald.com/58266 ) and is one of international significance.
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id1433462006
original story on Bjarne Holmes' research, also covered by STV and the Sunday Herald and was referred to by Penny Taylor in her opinion piece in the Sunday Herald -
http://sundayheraldsalon.com/salon/2006/09/better_services_will_help_newb.html#more
http://www.attachmentresearch.org/introduction.htm
webpage link on Bjarne Holmes' research
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1193513.0.0.php
- Three-year-olds to be assessed for antisocial behaviour BRIAN DONNELLY February 15 2007
CHILDREN as young as three are to be assessed for anti-social tendencies under controversial plans. A new review of persistent offending suggests the radical move could give children from difficult backgrounds a better chance in life, shepherding them towards a suitable level of support.
Proponents of the plan at Edinburgh City Council, which commissioned the research, said it would also help uncover medical problems such as autism. Children would be assessed either via a nursery or health visitors to ensure none was left out. The Breaking the Cycle report was written after over a year's research taking evidence from dozens of experts in the field, the council said.
Marilyne MacLaren, chair of the committee that commissioned the report, said: "......There are precise indicators for people who might need support such as conduct disorder and aggressive behaviour."
Some rather misplaced confidence in the `science` of social science here.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/06/nball06.xml
- She was arrested, fingerprinted and had her house searched - just because a neighbour said she didn't give a ball back
By Nick Britten (Filed: 06/10/2006)
EXCERPT
Mr Hickling, a tiler, said the episode had been particularly hard on Haydn,
who had special needs and relied heavily on his mother.
Haydn is the son of this woman - one wonders if the fact she has a child with
special needs might have had something to do with this whole incident.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/61139.html - One in 20 people have personality disorders, study shows - May 02 2006 - Almost one in 20 people in the UK has some form of personality disorder, according to a new study. You are much more likely to have a `personality disorder` if you are on a low income or are unemployed ......
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=753652006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/4978128.stm - The bodies of a mother and her 12 year old autistic son are found in the Humber estuary. It is believed that they may both have jumped from the Humber Bridge. Other news media have revealed that the son was being very badly bullied.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2298397.stm
- Helen Rogan, who jumped to her death with her son, who was also severely autistic. She had apparently been frightened that social services wanted to put her child into care.
ALSO:-
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100local/page.cfm?objectid=12254646&method=full&siteid=50081 - Suicide mum 'let down by system' October 4th 2002 Evening Chronicle
The BBC also carried a story about a mother who revealed that her social work department had suggested that putting her child into care was the `best` solution - this being much cheaper than a specialist placement:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4220964.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6297573.stm
- Babies 'removed to meet targets' By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News
The government insists it is protecting children
Babies are being removed from their parents so that councils can meet adoption targets, MPs have claimed. The MPs fear a rise in the number of young children being taken into care in
England and Wales is linked to pressure on councils to increase adoption rates. Lib Dem MP John Hemming, who has tabled a Commons motion on the issue, said it was a "national scandal".
The government said the courts decided on care cases but there had to be evidence a child was being harmed. A spokesman for the Department for Education said there were "no targets
relating to the numbers of children coming into care". But Mr Hemming argued that social services departments are under pressure to meet targets set by government on children in care being adopted.
Letting go to get care Parents' dilemma: Give up custody for mental-health treatment.
By Kathy Boccella Inquirer Staff Writer
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/6051584.htm
"That's a horrible thing," said the 34-year-old Flemington office manager,
who allowed the state to take custody of her son on Feb. 21. "He didn't ask to
have the problems that he has, and I don't think he should be ripped out of
his family because I can't pay for his treatment."
Malka's agonizing situation is not that unusual. A recent report from the U.S.
General Accounting Office found that more than 12,700 parents temporarily
severed ties with their children in exchange for mental-health care in 2001.
Advocates and the GAO say the numbers of parents forced to trade custody for
care is actually much higher, since 32 states did not respond to the survey
and no formal tracking of such placements occurs.
Another survey, by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), says one
in five parents of mentally ill children temporarily gave them up to obtain
services they could not afford otherwise.
"We know that the GAO report is just the tip of the iceberg," said Tammy
Seltzer, a staff attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in
Washington.
"Custody relinquishment has been documented in at least half the states in the
country, but of course even one family's being asked to make such an
impossible choice is too much."
According to the GAO, children were placed in either foster care or the
juvenile-justice system. Most are severely mentally ill and many are violent,
disrupting home life and making it virtually impossible for parents to care
for siblings.
"It seems like a medieval punishment," said Glenda Fine, president of Parents
Involved Network of Pennsylvania, an advocacy group.
Consultation on the draft Children's Services (Scotland) Bill Consultation, which is intended to support the implementation of Getting it right for every child. Consultation to end on 31/03/2007
http://www.scottishexecutive.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/18140606/0
6 - Draft Bill and Explanatory Notes
http://www.scottishexecutive.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/18140606/7
http://www.scottishexecutive.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/18140606/6
Chapter 5 - Issues for consideration
http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,993104,00.html
- The whistleblower's story Sunday July 6, 2003 The Observer
Paul Harris and Martin Bright investigate how a 12-year-old saga of child abuse and cover-ups has returned to haunt Children's Minister Margaret Hodge .
How the state abuses children - and then covers it up, for the sake of their careers
© Fiona Sinclair, Wednesday 4th April 2007