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11 Kids Made to Sleep in Cages in Ohio 1 hour, 37 minutes ago



Sheriff's deputies removed 11 disabled children from a home where they were made to sleep in cages less than 3 1/2 feet high, authorities said.

The children's adoptive and foster parents, Mike and Sharen Gravelle, denied that they'd abused or neglected the children during a custody hearing Monday in Huron County. No charges had been filed as of Monday night.

"The impression that we got was that they felt it was OK," said Lt. Randy Sommers of the Huron County Sheriff's Office.

The Gravelles said a psychiatrist recommended they make the children sleep in the cages at night, County Prosecutor Russell Leffler said. The cages were stacked in bedrooms on the second floor of their house, he said.

The children, ages 1 to 14, were described as having conditions that included autism and fetal alcohol syndrome.

The children were found by a children's services investigator on Friday when he stopped by the Gravelles' home outside Wakeman, about 50 miles west of Cleveland. Deputies returned to the house that evening.

Some of the cages were rigged with alarms, Sommers said; others had heavy furniture blocking their doors. The children didn't have blankets or pillows.

One of the boys said he'd slept in the cage for three years, Sommers said. And a neighbor recently reported seeing the children working long hours in the family's yard, he said.

The children were placed with four foster families Monday.

A woman who identified herself as Sharen Gravelle's mother but refused to give her name said the children were happy and loved. "This year they have played and had fun and laughed like no other children have, which they have never been able to do," she said.

The Gravelles do not have a listed telephone number.

Sommers said there were no apparent signs the children had been malnourished or beaten, but they were sent to a hospital for examination. Their conditions were not available Monday.

In March, a couple who had recently moved from Ohio to Florida was charged with neglect when their adopted teenager was discovered malnourished in a crib-like cage. The then-17-year-old weighed 49 pounds, investigators said.

The twin-bed-sized crib had been prescribed when the boy was much younger and lived in Ohio. It had been fitted with a lid, chains and a padlock, investigators said.




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"Sheriff's deputies removed 11 disabled children from a home where they were made to sleep in cages less than 3 1/2 feet high, authorities said."

*Too shocked to comment right now*

When you love something set it free

This is very shocking.  But Ohio is not the only place where this type of abuse is happening.  In Canada, two teenagers were found to be locked into baby cribs with lids on them for the night with a diaper or at weekends.  They were going to school everyday but did not tell anyone.

I saw a "Dr. Phil" show where a teenage girl was made to sleep in a basement "cell room".  It was a small room made of wallboard with only enough room for a mattress.  There was an alarm on the door that went off everytime the door opened.  She had threatened to kill her stepmother.  She had some developmental disorder.  Dr. Phil got some help for the girl and family.

There is some reality tv show called "Bootcamp" for teenagers.  I thought it was terrible.  I wonder if there were any teenagers with autism there.

That is just sickening, and unfortunately happens in other places. I heard about a case in some other state in the US where the foster parents got the foster parents of the year award, only to have been discovered duct taping the kids to their beds during naps and at bedtime to keep them in bed. It just shows that some people shouldn't be allowed to have children.

I noticed this story today in our local paper.

It's pretty amazing the kind of parents that these govt bureaucrats are happy to place foster kids with, isn't it? Obviously the authorities are so keen to fob off disabled kids onto someone else for care that they don't care who they send the kids to.

The fact that the authorities gave 11 kids, some disabled with special needs, to one family to look after is a scandal. Obviously even the best family could not have cared for a group of kids that big and needy. I hope that parents aren't the only ones who are made to account for this scandal. The authorities are the worst villains in this story.

Placing Children with Disabilities in Cages is Not the Answer

    BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In reference to reports from Ohio
this week of the foster children with disabilities placed in cages allegedly
for their own protection, the Autism Society of America (ASA), the nation's
most widely-recognized and largest grassroots organization serving the entire
autism community, is shocked and saddened to learn of the unfathomable
conditions in which these children were living. Reports indicate that the
children have disabilities such as autism, fetal alcohol syndrome and pica, a
compulsion to eat things not normally consumed as food. Tragically, these
disabilities can cause parents and care providers to resort to extreme
measures in order to provide safety and security.
    "ASA is well aware of the difficulties families of individuals with autism
face with chronic and dangerous wandering. As with Alzheimer's disease,
persons with autism may wander into danger, often with tragic results," said
ASA President & CEO Lee Grossman. "To address the issue, parents sometimes
sleep in shifts; may resort to locks, bars and electronic warning systems; and
are even reported for or accused of neglect, resulting in their children being
placed in temporary foster care while they scramble to defend their actions in
court. Yet, certainly no one could ever suggest that a child or adult be kept
in a wooden cage to sleep in.  Not for any reason or under any circumstances,"
he concluded.
    Law enforcement and criminal justice professionals will face an extremely
difficult job as they sort through the facts of this latest tragedy. Their
best resources, when it comes to the children in question, will be objective
disability advocacy groups. In the case of autism, ASA, with the support of
its state and local affiliates, is here to provide the necessary information
and resources.

    The Autism Society of America (ASA) is the leading voice and resource of
the entire autism community in education, advocacy, services, research and
support. The ASA is committed to meaningful participation and self-
determination in all aspects of life for individuals on the autism spectrum
and their families. ASA accomplishes its mission through close collaboration
with a successful network of 200 chapters, and hundreds of thousands of
members and supporters.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/storie...114&EDATE=