Neglect at Boarding School for Autistic Youth Left a Student With Vision Loss, Lawsuit Alleges

Drusas , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago)

"Vision loss" sounds so passive. They knew he had a problem with clawing at his eyes, told his parents they could handle that, then let him (not quite literally, but probably would have gotten there if not for parental intervention) claw his own eyes out.

Theharpyeagle , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago)

It’s sickening that this is a for-profit school siphoning tax money only to abandon the people depending on them. I worry that if the awarded damages aren’t enough or they settle, this lawsuit will just be the cost of doing business and nothing will change. These parents drove across the country to visit their son, not every family can or wants to do the same. Who knows what else is going on behind closed doors.

And they don’t have any oversight or registration as a boarding school or a special needs school? How the fuck is this legal?

ObsidianZed , 1 month ago

The investigation revealed how Shrub Oak has not sought or obtained approval from New York to operate as a special education school, which means it largely escapes oversight by education authorities and other state officials. It is also not a licensed residential facility. Though private, the school is mostly funded with public money through contracts with school districts across the country that send students there, then sometimes struggle to monitor residents’ progress or wellbeing.

This is just horrifying.

FlyingSquid , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago)

As awful as what happened was, you know what this article doesn’t discuss? Why people are sending their disabled kids to a fucking boarding school in the first place. And then show what loving parents this kid has in the photos.

Blum0108 , 1 month ago

What is your experience with taking care of adult severely autistic men with behavioral issues? It’s sounds love you’re blaming the parents for recognizing that they couldn’t their son full time.

FlyingSquid , 1 month ago

They couldn’t handle their son full time, so they spent a huge amount of money to send him to the opposite side of the country where they visited him for two weeks out of the time he was there and apparently never had any video chats because they didn’t know about his eyes until that two weeks thing happened.

And apparently he’s easy enough to take care of for a two-week bike trip.

You know what they could have done rather than spend all that money to send their son (who they definitely love very much since the article’s pictures tell us so) to a boarding school where they never had to deal with him except for a couple of weeks every six months and never talk to him otherwise and gotten some in-home help. I just searched and it costs $254,000 a year to board someone there full time.

Are you really going to tell me that their only option, for this son who apparently loves nothing more than to lay on his father’s lap, hold his hand, and watch a Disney movie, was to send him across the country where they never saw him? Bullshit. They were tired of having to deal with him.

I don’t have to have personal experience taking care of a severely autistic man to have seen many very intellectually disabled adults out and about with people paid to care for them. I even have a friend who does it. And he does it for a lot less than $254,000 a year. And he wouldn’t have let this poor guy blind himself.

jeffw OP , 1 month ago

Actually, the public school is named in the lawsuit, which means they probably funded it. Typically, RTFs would not be private pay.

Also, there’s nothing in the article about it being a two-week bike trip, nor that he’d even be with the family without support overnight (since the article claims he needs awake overnight staff to stop from SIBs).

There’s no shame in families relying on whatever help they can qualify for imo. Oftentimes you don’t get what you want, so you settle for what you think will help your child

FlyingSquid , 1 month ago

Are you sure you read the article?

Michael Roy and D’Arcy Forbes, who had driven about 2,900 miles from their home near Seattle to New York in August 2022 with plans to mountain bike with their son, decided instead to take him home to try to save his eyesight.

…

His parents knew that their son’s left eye had been injured. But when they visited again in August for the two-week break they’d planned to spend mountain biking, his right eye was red and it, too, was damaged, according to the lawsuit. They decided to take him home to try to save the eyesight in his right eye.

The article also only mentions his public school in that they were ignoring his needs. They said nothing about the school sending him there. Since he would have been 18 at the time, I find it hard to buy that they would.

jeffw OP , 1 month ago

Public school must be funded until 21 for anyone with a need for that. If a school can’t meet the kid’s needs, they must fund a least restrictive alternative (IDEA and similar laws). Within that funding, it’s incumbent upon the school district to ensure the placement is not going to cause harm/be unsafe.

In terms of the break, I don’t see anything that says they wouldn’t just take a couple short bike trips in that time span. Given the level of disability, it seems unlikely he’d go on a long bike trip. More likely they’d just take some day trips. This second paragraph is subjective and based on my work experience with similar families in the disability world.

FlyingSquid , 1 month ago

What you said:

Also, there’s nothing in the article about it being a two-week bike trip

What the article said:

for the two-week break they’d planned to spend mountain biking,

You were just incorrect.

Blum0108 , 1 month ago

Fair enough. It just seemed like you were judging unfairly. Thanks for elaborating your view and I agree with you.

jeffw OP , 1 month ago

I think you meant to reply to a comment, not the post

Uturds , 1 month ago

Shut up nerd