AYN IS CAUGHT IN A SYSTEM WITHOUT GRACE

2007 Album Cover by group 'Without Grace'

Ayn was removed from her father and her home over five months ago. Ostensibly this will have been to observe her. The precipitating cause of this government child welfare action was her three hour unescorted daytrip on June 12th when her father lost touch with her. He was concerned. She had climbed over the fence in the family back yard. She was exploring. Children do that. Autistic children do that. Ayn is autistic. It’s somewhat more difficult to reinforce understanding of potential harm and cooperation with parental authority with an autistic child. Ayn’s exploration took down the street to a neighbour’s yard where she was found playing. She was returned to her father that day.

The Ministry of Children flagged this case. Due diligence would have uncovered a typical litany of episodes and challenges of bizarre behaviour and outburst as well as a record of charming conduct and loving moments. Due diligence would have revealed the primary care of a father, Derek, as dedicated, attentive, systematic and loving. The results of this due diligence would unsurprisingly be confidence in Derek’s parenting skills and a commitment to return Ayn to him in her best interests. How long does a due diligence assessment take? Certainly not five months. Furthermore, whatever paltry assessment was done on Ayn in the initial days of her incarceration, it was sufficient in the estimation of medical professionals associated with her care to justify the prescription of a recipe of anti-psychotic drugs to render her placid. A docile child is manageable and that was especially necessary when the principle calming agent, her father, was withheld from her.

What the Ministry created on the 16th day of June was a basket case child because she cried for eighteen straight days. Then this disgusting excuse for a government care agency requested from Derek, a photo of himself with Ayn so that she could be comforted - BINGO! Wouldn’t that inform intelligent, well trained, perceptive, altruistically-spirited social workers? Of course! So what have we serving the needs of children arbitrarily removed from parents? Something less than appropriate. Something flawed at its heart. Something populated by social workers who cannot break free from the restraints of bureaucratic and judicial shackles in order to be humane. Something administered by well paid bureaucrats who become deaf to the cries of the camps of parental refugees on this democratic continent, and who become sight impaired so they cannot distinguish between true and misleading cases of abuse and neglect.

Ayn is only one of the many cases in which the Ministry of Children and Family Development has erred and failed to acknowledge the error in judgement but subjected children and parents to treatment we all find reprehensible, as would some of the social workers were they on this side of the fence looking over. It is no wonder that we have lost faith in a system that cannot respond with grace.

OHHH! DEREK MUST LONG TO HOLD AYN AGAIN

I am a grandfather of five, three boys and two girls. The oldest girl is eleven and her two brothers are nine and seven. Their cousins are a boy soon to be seven, and a girl who is four. The four year old comes to our home twice each week so her mom can go to work for those days. I hug each child when we see one another. They permit me to do that, and they seem to enjoy the caress of attentive love. That littlest one, four years old is at a rewarding stage for me. She loves to be cuddled. She curls on my lap and snuggles. We look into one another’s eyes and call each other outlandish funny names. We play eye spy with my little eye. We paint, we read, we watch cartoons. And she may sit for hours on the floor with a doll house and a castle of plastic and little synthetic people and carry on true to life conversations, until she says something out of character like, “just get on with it.” To which I have said, “Did you just say “Get on with it” and she has replied, “No she did,” her finger pointing to one of the little people.

Ayn at play

Derek must long to wrap his arms around his girl, to see her eyes, and the soft smile on her lips, to hear her laugh, to hear the sound of her voice.” He must miss the touch of her skin. The physical longing for his own daughter of the same substance as himself must at times be unbearable.

DRUGS CAN’T STOP THE TEARS

By Dr. Ron Unruh in Help Bring little Autistic girl back to her daddy

Derek and Ayn happy when she once lived at home

Our hearts are touched by Derek Hoare’s broken heart and most of all by the bewildered agony that terrifies Derek’s nine year old daughter Ayn (pronounced Ine). After eighteen days of Ayn’s crying, the Ministry requested that Derek supply a photo of him and Ayn together. She has been carrying this around ever since. That was 4 ½ months ago. Those pretty blue eyes were filled with tears for eighteen days despite the injection of three drugs into her system. That’s how the ministry has cared for this child with an autism disorder. Seventy hours after seizing her MCFD began the drug treatment. Drugs were unnecessary and unwelcome in Derek’s home.