Friday, May 4, 2012

Does physical disability make a parent less fit?

This just in on the case of the Mississauga parents of a new baby who both have cerebral palsy: Disabled parents allowed to keep newborn son

Says the CBC: "The parents were fighting to keep their child after social workers threatened to take the boy away unless he receives round-the-clock care from an "able-bodied attendant."

We did a story years ago about a single mom with cerebral palsy and limited hand function and her two girls. 'I know that I'm raising really good girls'

I learned a lot interviewing that mom.

2 comments:

Yes, and no.

Will they deliberately do harm. No.

Could they accidentally do harm... should they fall, accidentally drop the baby (floor or tub) - remember they grow, move around a lot and get heavy. Should they have difficulty in supplying food, clothing, medical care or shelter due to financial considerations....

These are all appropriate concerns of children's services. Doesn't make them bad, or unloving parents... but should something go wrong and they weren't supervised by CAS...

CBC never gives the full story in any news article so it's impossible to make an informed decision either way.

farmwife - all of the issues you raise can just as easily apply to ablebodied persons. These parents seem to have been targeted due to their disabilities.
I agree we do not have all the details, but the story still makes me ill.