SC Teen Dies Jumping from Ambulance as SC Contemplates Cutting More Services
It's taken me a couple of days to gather up the heart to run this story of a 16 year old boy who tumbled to his death out of the back of an ambulance in South Carolina. In the interim, I read that SC is considering draconian cuts to their social services budget.
(NBC) - Family members of a Greenville, SC teen killed when he jumped from a moving ambulance said that the death of the autistic 16-year-old on Sunday could have been prevented.
For starters, Shelly Hodge didn't want her son, Ryan Emory, released from the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute in Columbia on Feb. 6. On his discharge papers she wrote: "I, Shelly Hodge, Ryan Emory's mother, disagree with the Department of Disabilities and Special Need's discharge recommendation at this time. There are no services in place. I fear for my safety and his."
Hodge isn't just a concerned mother. She's also a nurse. Based on her medical training, she believes there was something very wrong with her son, more than just autism.
"He knows his little mind was broken and just wanted someone to help him," she said. "No one would help him. Nobody would take him in. All he needed was 24/7 care at a facility to evaluate him. That's what I was asking for."
Hodge said her son was like a 6-year-old mentally, but physically he was big and strong. Emory weighed 250 pounds, so when he threw a tantrum there was a chance someone would get hurt. Often it was family.
Hodge tried to impress the DDSN that her son desperately needed help.
"'This kid's not safe. It's not going to end well.' I told them that and they didn't believe me," said Hodge... Read more at WMBF News.
Tom, thanks so much for this info. You are so well informed. I will get together this weekend names and numbers so they can be posted by Monday. I have also written to all the local newspapers.
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | March 05, 2010 at 08:24 AM
South Carolina, like so many States is trying to save as much money as possible by cutting social services. All States like to complain about their difficult financial circumstances, but we need to know this: It's all lies! According to Walter Burien, financial expert, ALL States keep two sets of books: Publically available and off-budget reports (see "Confidential Annual Financial Reports, http://cafr1.com/ that most State and local gov'ts keep. Alternatively, google Walter Burien's Greatest Game in Town.)
South Carolina is not unlike other States that cry poverty, while BILLIONS are hidden from public view. Liabilities are for all to see, but billions in revenue (e.g. tolls, other sources of income), are often not included in revenue totals. The media has been in on NOT looking into CAFRs for many decades. As for South Carolina, not only is their corruption almost unmatched across the country, they even managed to have the EPA raise the maximum contaminant level of fluoride (which triples the uptake of lead in a child's developing brain... go to: http://www.lead.org.au/lanv7n4/L74-11.html), from 2.2 parts per million (ppm) to 4.0 ppm. Why? Because S.C. did NOT want to pay to de-fluoridate water with excess fluoride content! No problem, we'll just sue the EPA and change the standard.
All around monied interests get what they want and the public becomes increasingly dumbed-down and unable to appropriately respond. That one in 100 of our wonderful children have autism gets a shrug by authorities and preventable tragedies keep increasing. While prevention (better education on environmental causes), is better than treatment, let's not claim you MUST have all these vaccines and then when our FORCED medical treatments cause harm, say, "WE CAN'T AFFORD TO HELP YOU!"
And yes (if you didn't get this point yet), fluoride in many forms is dumbing down Americans everywhere AND this is most certainly true in South Carolina where those stupid and inattentive Ambulance workers were located. Press my name for more on this topic. Meanwhile, let's call the SC State legislators and do THREE THINGS: 1. Demand an investigation, 2. Demand more funding for mental health treatment of Autism affected children and adults and 3. "May I see your CAFR!"
Posted by: Tom | March 05, 2010 at 03:00 AM
I am continually saddened by the verbal/expressive kids with autism. They are in pain - physically in many cases, certainly mentally and emotionally trapped in their own bodies. Their parents are harangued as "overprotective" or seeing things that are not there (HA!). The researchers, such as Dr. Wakefield and others are publicly mocked and shamefully derided and ruined, and those who would work to help them continually fight potentially being put out of business. No wonder these kids are violent, or depressed. There are living, breathing, VERY aware human beings in those bodies. The mainstream that imprisoned them in their bodies have deep pockets, own the media, and have apparently for the most part lost all conscience about the ruination of an entire generation, going on a second.
I am deeply grieved for every death - of a parent, a child with autism, a sibling - whatever it may be.
Will the world at large ever admit to the physical and emotional pain inflicted in the name of vaccine profits on these children and their parents?
Posted by: Cindy Griffin | March 05, 2010 at 02:41 AM
It is so tough to get the help needed for teenagers and young adults who have autism, and who are also suffering from mental health issues as well. It is tragic. There is so little help available.
Posted by: chantal Sicile-Kira | March 04, 2010 at 09:49 PM
Ana, Just what I was thinking. It's not just cuts to services; it's ending all services with the exception of 4600 individuals in residential homes with no place else to go. Kim---if I make up a list and numbers--can we have a call in to the SC legislature put on AOA? Of course we have to include calls to our Argentinian traveler too. thanks, Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | March 04, 2010 at 06:34 PM
This story hurts. I hope this boy's mother is able to get some form of comfort from the autism community, which does feel her pain.
Posted by: nhokkanen | March 04, 2010 at 02:45 PM
I remember something from the book "Clockers" by Richard Price. The racist cops called the projects a "self cleaning oven" because of how many people died there, and because the death rate was convenient for those who view some human beings as less worthy than others.
Except for the fact that minorities are not cognitively impaired, how is this different?
Posted by: Gatogorra | March 04, 2010 at 12:02 PM
This absolutely breaks my heart. How many more times does this kind of thing have to happen? Do our kids just not matter to anyone but us?
Posted by: Sue Cranmer | March 04, 2010 at 10:10 AM
I think we need to get all the major Autism orgs to rally the parent all over the country to contact South Carolina legislators and tell them it is all for one and one for all and we will not stand for our children's NEEDS being dumped like this. It could help the families in South Carolina AND send a message to legislators in our own states that this will not fly here either.
Posted by: AnaB | March 04, 2010 at 09:17 AM
The sad part of this story is that the parents asked for help and were refused.
The infuriating part for me is the negligence on the behalf of those transporting him. I dont know if any of you have had the opportunity to climb inside an ambulance, it's pretty tight quarters. Now supposedly this boy was strapped into a gurney and an attendant was sitting in the back alongside. So my question is how exactly does someone struggle to free himself from the restraints, get up, move to the back, fumble with the door handle and jump out before the ambulance can stop? Dont these ambulances transport security risk patients, and the mentally ill?
A quote from an autism blogsite "Autism may be a gift for Dr. Temple Grandin. For others, like Shelley Hodge's son Ryan Emory, it is a disorder which can restrict their lives .... and even end them at an early age. You can read more fully about Ryan Emory at Greenville Online. You are unlikely to see his story on CNN." http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:KIqRK6huN-QJ:autisminnb.blogspot.com/2010/03/autism-not-gift-for-south-carolina-boy.html+Ryan+Emory+autism&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Posted by: bensmyson | March 04, 2010 at 09:12 AM