Recently in Florida a 6-year-old child in a special education school was taken into custody by the police and kept for 48 hours. Apparently, the child was having tantrums and was “out of control” according to the school. The state of Florida has what is known as “the Baker Act” that allows for a person to be held involuntary at a mental health facility for up to 72 hours if that person is deemed a danger to themselves or others. The child’s mother stated,” She had struck gold since the school had small classroom sizes and “specifically trained staff for special needs children that were similar to my daughter.”
I am only bringing this to the attention of my readers, because my son was in a class here in Louisiana in his early years and these behaviors were common, he would often have meltdowns , which people assumed were tantrums for many years. Occasionally, he still has meltdowns. These are caused by sensory differences, routine, anxiety that overwhelm him and result in a loss of control, (screaming, shouting, crying, some people kick and bite). My concern is the fact that people are not “trained” or qualified to deal with him and others like him. It is frightening to say the least. I can tell you that handcuffing or slamming my child to the ground will only cause to AGITATE the problem. Why? because he is already “overwhelmed” by something occurring in the environment that has nothing to do with harming other people. The stress could be simply a “smell in the air,” or a loud noise.
JJENCARE1Therefore, if a person is only used to handling their job with FORCE, how can they be expected to tell the difference? (violent person vs meltdown) Training for those in society, who are placed in authority and especially those who carry guns should be mandatory. I am very disturbed with how the school handled this situation. Was there no room where the child could be allowed to calm down with adult supervision until the parent arrived? When our loved ones are going through life, they just like the rest of us, and develop with different individual needs. What worked for my son’s tantrums as a child does not work now. The mother of the child in Florida was changing medications for her daughter. Anyone with a special need’s child knows that it is a “process” to find what will work for your child. This being said, Will the mother need to keep her daughter home, until she finds the right medicine? This could take up to year. Can you see the need here for a change in how special needs people are treated?
FYI( for your information)
Baker Act
The Baker Act is a Florida law that enables families and loved ones to provide emergency mental health services and temporary detention for people who are impaired because of their mental illness, and who are unable to determine their needs for treatment. The Act was named after Maxine Baker, former Miami State representative who sponsored the Act in 1972. People who require the use of the Baker Act have often lost the power of self-control, and they are likely to inflict harm to themselves or others. It is important that the Baker Act only be used in situations where the person has a mental illness and meets all the remaining criteria for voluntary or involuntary admission. It does not substitute for any other law that may permit the provision of medical or substance abuse care to persons who lack the capacity to request such care
https://ufhealth.org/baker-act
https://abcnews.go.com/US/year-florida-student-mental-health-facility-48-hours/story?id=68986701