General Chat

I know this is not in the UK, but it could just as easily happen in this country....

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_23845.aspx

This is a story about a single mum with an autistic child.

She was investigated and placed under suspicion when an assistant teacher went to see a 'psychic' who told her that someone in her class with a name beginning with V was being abused ........and the ball started rolling.

Absolutely despicable. Beneath contempt.

That is absolutelt awful Eldrick! Thank goodness the CAS people had the sense to see it for the rubbish the claim was.

~~Have read the article in question..and my initial thinking was.." you couldn`t make it up"
I think it is also irresponsible of a psychic saying such things in first place..of such nature.
For the `ball` to start rolling and to have such consequences is bordering on the ridiculous..~~

I haven't read the item........disgraceful that any educational authority would act on the information given the circumstances.
The blame lies with the member of staff,education authority & investigating body as much as the psychic.

I think a very few people do have psychic powers but they are usually not in it for the money and have nothing to gain from it and do not wish to gain from it - I have a friend who has a very uncanny knack of predicting things that do happen - very spooky. These "famous" psychics seem on the whole to be frauds who mess with peoples' minds

Very true Ann

With respect, Eeyore, would it not be better to read the article before commenting? Just an observation because you admit to not reading it but still comment on it.

I've just been to the link and read it .As the parent of 2 autistic children and with a long background in childcare I am horrified that it went so far on such little evidence and that anyone would take the word of a psychic on a matter like this .

Thats a total disgrace, too right in not letting her child go back their, have to admit, nothing suprises me anymore, glad they stopped the precidings, but still it was on no evidence not about totaly made up garbage...... :(

kaz xxx

The schools actions are far more worrying than the false allegation.
x

I think, to an extent anyway, you are right, Frankie, but it is the contemptable and spurious 'revelation' in the first place that started it. It has become fashionable, so it would seem, for psychics to play the abuse card now, as when they get it right, as the law of averages says they must sooner or later, it becomes headlines and enhances their wealth creation potential enormously.

But you are right in saying that the education system is in a deplorable state to even countenance allegations of this nature.

With respect Errol I found Eldricks explaination on it's own eneough to 'cause concern & felt that in itself justified a comment?
Or are you saying Elderick has given 'false' information,in which case why have most people said a similar thing?

With respect these days any allegation, no matter how spurious has to be investigated.The schools are damned if they do & damned if they dont in my view.

In this country you are duty bound to inform parents of your intention to make a report .This at least give the parent the opportunity to take the steps that they need to in the matter as opposed to the report being made and acted apon before the parent is informed as it would seem in this case .At the end of the day the point is that it is ludicrous to take the word of a psychic or medium in matters like this .

lol Eeyore I'm saying nothing of the sort, of course.
I merely think it is better to get the full facts rather than base a comment on opinion.

I do too Errol but Eldrick hasn't puts up an item like that with a site address unless it's fact before?So why would he now & you'd be hard pressed to invent it??
If I am entering a full & proper debate I assure you I research thoroughly-I didn't realize this was one..lol

How embarrassing, I think. In Canada.

And then I read the article. And I see:

"Victoria, who is non-verbal, had also been exhibiting sexualized behaviour in class, actions which are known to be typical of autistic behavior. (See other typical actions here) That lead authorities to suspect she had a bladder infection that may have somehow been related to the 'attack'."

Sexualized behaviour in a young child is a classic sign of sexual abuse, if also typical of autistic behaviour.

Because the behaviour *could have* been associated with abuse, it was wise to investigate. Completely apart from any other allegations or fabrications.

I like to think that if I had a child that age and s/he was exhibiting signs of abuse, someone would investigate.


"The mom, who is divorced and has a new fiancé, adamantly denied the charges, noting her daughter was never exposed to anyone of that age." (The psychic said a man between 23 and 26.)

Actually, stepfathers are among the most common victimizers of young girls. And the mothers, for a range of reasons, often do not / choose not to recognize the problem.

The presence of a new adult male in the girl's home was certainly not grounds in itself to suspect abuse, but coupled with her behaviour, it was a possible indication.


"And so a case worker came to the Leduc home to discuss the allegations of sexual misconduct, only to admit there wasn't a shred of evidence that anything had ever happened at all. They labelled Leduc a 'diligent' mother doing the best she could for her child under difficult circumstances, closed the file and left, calling the report 'ridiculous'."

Well isn't that just AWFUL. The public agency with a duty to protect children investigated a possible abuse situation, and found no grounds to suspect abuse. The worker didn't "admit" anything, since SHE had never said otherwise. She was investigating. She made a finding.


"[The mother's] goal: get the board to pay for the IBI therapy she believes her child should have had in the first place. She wants them to foot the bill for the expensive treatment - it can cost more than $50,000 annually - at least for the rest of the semester."

IBI -- intensive behavioural intervention -- therapy is hugely, hugely expensive, and parents of autistic children have been locked in battle with provincial governments here for years about access to it.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/419563

There is controversy over its utility for older children especially. And local school boards usually just do not have the funds to provide it for all children whose parents want access to it.

This mother is to be commended for her advocacy for her daughter.

I would think that we, if not she, might be glad that where there is some reason to think sexual abuse of children might be occurring, someone bothers to investigate it.

Children's services are pretty much damned if they do and damned if they don't most of the time.


... None of which is to say that the psychic shouldn't be prosecuted under our Criminal Code provisions that actually outlaw taking money for crap like this. Not that anyone ever has been ... it's all just "for entertainment", doncha know ...

I see what you are saying here Kathryn...

Firstly, the report, and we, are focussing on the fact that the 'psychic' made this allegation and got it completely wrong. Now she is villified. What if she had been right?

Secondly, the fact that, although on very shaky ground, it DID cause a reaction and investigation, isn't wrong in itself, and in fact proved there was no abuse after all. If they had ignored it, and that 'psychic' had been right, the social services (or whatever they are called there) would have been villified.

What do we want folks? Ignore it just in case its wrong, or investigate in case its right?

You decide!

On the law of averages a 'psychic' who knows that a client works at a school is once in a while going to hit pay dirt. And they will use that once to justify turning people's lives upside down. I would have been more impressed if the teaching assistant had queried the sexualised behaviour which had been going on for a while, rather than waiting for someone to get a message through the ether via the 'psychic'.
Yes, accusations of abuse need investigating, but they should look at the source a bit harder first and decide whether their information is likely to be credible. And if it's decided they are credible then they should proceed with tact and caution.

Oh, I'm not thinking she might have been right! Not by anything other than huge coincidence ... or deception and cunning.

There was some possible ground for suspecting abuse already -- the girl's behaviour.

Had that not been the case, I would have fired the school employee in question. Well ... maybe sent her on a training course.

Who knows, so much could have happened that's not in the article. The employee could already have been concerned about the girl, and the "psychic" got enough out of her, as psychics do, to make the guess, and the employee took this as confirmation of her own worries ...

Had there been nothing but the report of the psychic's words, I think the principal or school counsellor might have had the mother in for a chat -- to tell her that this report had been made, because she's absolutely entitled to know that, that a school employee is listening to things a psychic says and then telling school officials that those things are about the woman's daughter.

The school could have asked the mother whether she wanted to have any aspect of the matter looked into, and the mother could have reviewed her GPS/audio tapes. And the girl's behaviour could have been discussed. All with the school on the mother's side, as advocates for the girl.

I can just imagine what a happy prospect that would have been for the principal -- telling an already adversarial mother that one of his employees was telling tales like this. But I do think she was entitled to know.

With the possibly problematic behaviour, though, well, one has to wonder whether it had ever been discussed with the mother before. It probably should have been, just discussed directly. It has to be a tough call, if the possible abuser is a member of the household as in this case.