11-14-2005, 11:01 AM
Mistreatment claims raise alarm at school
Critics say allegation that autistic boy was denied food shows need for more monitoring
By RICK KARLIN, Staff writer
Times Union
Monday, November 14, 2005
Little Jonathan Carey suffers from severe autism and developmental disorders. When agitated, the 11-year-old from Glenmont may flop and writhe uncontrollably. Sometimes he takes his clothing off, which is where the trouble came at Anderson School, the residential center in Staatsburg, Dutchess County, that specializes in caring for such youngsters.
According to state inspectors, Jonathan's caretakers withheld meals from the child if he refused to keep his clothes on.
"He was denied access to meals at the table contingent upon appropriate behavior," according to a November 2004 report by the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
The report was obtained by the boy's parents, Lisa and Mike Carey, who have since pulled their son out of Anderson School and are suing the facility in state court.
The school responded that workers encouraged Jonathan to get dressed and offered him nutritional supplements. The school's lawyer, Michael Murphy, said it denies food was withheld.
"The Anderson School does not and has not withheld food as a behavior modification technique," he said.
But other reports suggest Jonathan had gone for some time without food or supplements.
"Due to the implementation of a behavior plan for J.C., he was denied access to meals at the table contingent upon appropriate behavior and dress codes on 10.16.04," reads one citation the state issued to the center. "There were no provisions for J.C. to receive any meal or supplements if he did not get dressed."
Either way, the case has drawn the attention of critics who see it as another of several recent examples in which institutions for youngsters with special needs have run into problems. Some are wondering if the state, including the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, which licenses Anderson School, needs to step up its monitoring of such facilities.
The facility also is licensed by the state Education Department and Office of Children and Family Services.
"Obviously, we'll have to take a look at this," said OMRDD spokeswoman Deborah Sturm Rausch. As for withholding food, Sturm Rausch said such tactics are clearly not to be used, no matter what a child is doing.
"You cannot do that," added Steve Sanders, who heads the state Assembly's education committee. Sanders has previously complained that poor state oversight led to patient care problems at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia.
At least one other youngster from the Glenmont-Bethlehem area is at Anderson School, along with several from around the Capital Region, said Mike Carey, the child's father.
He conceded his child can be difficult to care for. He said he was told Anderson School has a good reputation.
But there were other disturbing incidents, he said, including instances in which the boy was left naked and in his own urine. The school allegedly ignored orders that he get a diet without caseins, the proteins found in milk, to which some people are allergic.
On one visit, Michael Carey took Jonathan for a ride. They stopped at a McDonald's and, he said, the child "ate like a horse."
Carey also wonders if workers at the facility had been trying to warn him of problems. On one visit, during which he drove to the school to take Jonathan to a dental appointment off the school grounds, workers suggested he take the child's duffle bag full of clothing, even though he was only going to be gone for a few hours.
Tucked inside the duffle were some of the school's log notes. They essentially provided a road map to some of the problems -- and abuses -- the child had allegedly suffered.
"Why would a staff member say that to us, 'why don't you take Jonathan's clothing bag?' " Carey asked. Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.
Source: Times Union
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.a...TextPage=2
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Critics say allegation that autistic boy was denied food shows need for more monitoring
By RICK KARLIN, Staff writer
Times Union
Monday, November 14, 2005
Little Jonathan Carey suffers from severe autism and developmental disorders. When agitated, the 11-year-old from Glenmont may flop and writhe uncontrollably. Sometimes he takes his clothing off, which is where the trouble came at Anderson School, the residential center in Staatsburg, Dutchess County, that specializes in caring for such youngsters.
According to state inspectors, Jonathan's caretakers withheld meals from the child if he refused to keep his clothes on.
"He was denied access to meals at the table contingent upon appropriate behavior," according to a November 2004 report by the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
The report was obtained by the boy's parents, Lisa and Mike Carey, who have since pulled their son out of Anderson School and are suing the facility in state court.
The school responded that workers encouraged Jonathan to get dressed and offered him nutritional supplements. The school's lawyer, Michael Murphy, said it denies food was withheld.
"The Anderson School does not and has not withheld food as a behavior modification technique," he said.
But other reports suggest Jonathan had gone for some time without food or supplements.
"Due to the implementation of a behavior plan for J.C., he was denied access to meals at the table contingent upon appropriate behavior and dress codes on 10.16.04," reads one citation the state issued to the center. "There were no provisions for J.C. to receive any meal or supplements if he did not get dressed."
Either way, the case has drawn the attention of critics who see it as another of several recent examples in which institutions for youngsters with special needs have run into problems. Some are wondering if the state, including the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, which licenses Anderson School, needs to step up its monitoring of such facilities.
The facility also is licensed by the state Education Department and Office of Children and Family Services.
"Obviously, we'll have to take a look at this," said OMRDD spokeswoman Deborah Sturm Rausch. As for withholding food, Sturm Rausch said such tactics are clearly not to be used, no matter what a child is doing.
"You cannot do that," added Steve Sanders, who heads the state Assembly's education committee. Sanders has previously complained that poor state oversight led to patient care problems at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia.
At least one other youngster from the Glenmont-Bethlehem area is at Anderson School, along with several from around the Capital Region, said Mike Carey, the child's father.
He conceded his child can be difficult to care for. He said he was told Anderson School has a good reputation.
But there were other disturbing incidents, he said, including instances in which the boy was left naked and in his own urine. The school allegedly ignored orders that he get a diet without caseins, the proteins found in milk, to which some people are allergic.
On one visit, Michael Carey took Jonathan for a ride. They stopped at a McDonald's and, he said, the child "ate like a horse."
Carey also wonders if workers at the facility had been trying to warn him of problems. On one visit, during which he drove to the school to take Jonathan to a dental appointment off the school grounds, workers suggested he take the child's duffle bag full of clothing, even though he was only going to be gone for a few hours.
Tucked inside the duffle were some of the school's log notes. They essentially provided a road map to some of the problems -- and abuses -- the child had allegedly suffered.
"Why would a staff member say that to us, 'why don't you take Jonathan's clothing bag?' " Carey asked. Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.
Source: Times Union
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.a...TextPage=2
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