School sends 6 year old to a psych hospital

Jeanwah

This is upsetting.... a six year old, no less.

Mom upset after school sends son to psych ward

School district commits 6-year-old after he pens violent drawing

By Kim Baldonado
NBCLosAngeles.com NBCLosAngeles.com

Syndi Dorman has faced a lot, raising two kids while her Army husband spent time overseas. But what happened a few days ago was right up there with her worst nightmare.

"I said, 'Can you do this?' and they're like, 'Yeah,'" said the stunned San Pedro mother. "I'm just like, 'What? Can I get a lawyer? How is this happening?'"

Dorman said what happened to her son could happen to any school-age child and that's why she's speaking out. On Monday, her 6-year-old son Jack was committed to a psychiatric ward against her wishes after he drew a violent drawing at school and wrote that he wanted to die.

"They said they were concerned about a picture he drew. I said he plays video games and it's a picture from a video game."

Dorman said her son suffers from separation anxiety and has seen a therapist in the past. On the day he drew the disturbing picture, he was upset that he couldn't stay home with his family.

"I explained to them what was happening, that my husband was being deployed to Iraq, that he was upset when he came to school today, that he wanted to be home."

School officials at Taper Avenue Elementary in San Pedro were so concerned, they called a Los Angeles County psychiatric mobile response team, which determined Jack needed to be committed to a 72-hour psychiatric hold at a local hospital.

"I'm saying, 'I will deal with it, that we have a therapist, we'll make sure he's seen today.' "They said it was out of my hands. They said they were in control and they could do this and had already called an ambulance."

Dorman said the ambulance ride was traumatizing for her son.

"I was trying to reassure him it would be OK and he asked if I'd come back for him, and I said of course I'm going to come back for you."

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon Cortines released a statement, saying in part, "When any student indicates a desire to take his or her own life, the LAUSD is required to follow strict protocols to ensure the safety of the student ... The safety of LAUSD students is paramount. We did the right thing here."

Jack was released after 48 hours, but his mother says the experience will have lasting effects.

"My son doesn't want to go back to school. He's afraid they're going to take him away again."

Digital Twilight

I can't believe a school has the power to do this. They have probably done more damage to the child then anything that was going on in his life. That said a 6 year old shouldn't be writting that he wants to die. Raise the flag, invite the parent in for a chat to see if anything is wrong but have the kid taken away? Shocking. The school should have known about his condition and taken that into account.

Also it makes you wonder if the kid was old enough to be playing that game doesn't it?

Break The Sky

It's amazing how black-and-white protocol is for many U.S. schools even though the children who attend them are anything but that.

pandora

Mom should have been called and allowed to accompany him to the hospital
to ease his fears.
She also should have been allowed to stay with him during his stay,
the article doesn't mention if she was or did.

What is most troubling to me is that a 6 year old wants to die,
thinking about that at such a young age
and draws violent pictures because he is playing violent video games.

Just me but I don't think a 6 year old needs to be playing violent video games.

Most especially if he is troubled about being separated from family.
He might have some deep fears about losing his family....a real issue with Daddy in Iraq.

I hope he gets the help he needs and home schooling is a great alternative!

Cosmo

Double-edged sword... what happens if the kid is psycho and harms his classmates? School gets blamed for ignoring the 'obvious signs'. And what if the parent is a psycho?

justam

Where is common sense in all this? The child is six years old. He wasn't carrying a gun. Short of a gun, how could a six year old child hurt anyone? He couldn't even throw something hard enough to hurt someone.

All these rules seem to be a good excuse not to be flexible and handle individual situations that occur to individual students.

A six year old boy is SMALL.

P.S. Why ARE the parents letting such a young child play violent video games?

catefrances

ok first off.. this is bullshit. can you imagine being the parent getting the phone call that tells you youre child has been committed to a psych ward??? fuck off!!

secondly... id like to see the picture the boy drew and id like to know what video game the picture is supposedly representative of.

thirdly.. does a 6 year old really know what hes saying when he says he wants to die?

i find the actions of the school disgraceful.

tinkerbell

As a mother of a 6 year old this is incredibly disturbing! The parents should always be notafied if their child is having issues at school.
On the flip side there is no reason 6 year olds need to play video games at all, we have a PS3 in our house and it is a no go for the kids.
I will be giving my kids big hugs when I pick them up from school and kindy this arvo.

_

Jeanwah wrote:

School district commits 6-year-old

This is totally misleading. The school district didn't commit anyone. They called someone in to evaluate the kid (for his own safety) and the psychologists are the ones who decided to commit him. And for all we know, they called the mom first.

Digital Twilight wrote:

I can't believe a school has the power to do this.

They don't & they didn't.

haffajappa

Digital Twilight wrote:

I can't believe a school has the power to do this. They have probably done more damage to the child then anything that was going on in his life. That said a 6 year old shouldn't be writting that he wants to die. Raise the flag, invite the parent in for a chat to see if anything is wrong but have the kid taken away? Shocking. The school should have known about his condition and taken that into account.

Also it makes you wonder if the kid was old enough to be playing that game doesn't it?

that was my thought as well!!!!

Jason P

haffajappa wrote:

Digital Twilight wrote:

I can't believe a school has the power to do this. They have probably done more damage to the child then anything that was going on in his life. That said a 6 year old shouldn't be writting that he wants to die. Raise the flag, invite the parent in for a chat to see if anything is wrong but have the kid taken away? Shocking. The school should have known about his condition and taken that into account.

Also it makes you wonder if the kid was old enough to be playing that game doesn't it?

that was my thought as well!!!!

The only violence a six year old should see in a video game should involve the destruction of koopas and goombas. A few years ago my nephew and niece (6 & 8) came over while I was playing a boxing game and the realism of the violence scared them. If that scared them, I can't imagine letting a kid play or see games like Grand Theft Auto and Modern Warfare.

That said, it sounds like the lawyers and administrators have built a system that relies on protocol instead of common sense. The probably followed the advice of a handbook to avoid getting sued in case of a future event.

Jeanwah

_ wrote:

Jeanwah wrote:

School district commits 6-year-old

This is totally misleading. The school district didn't commit anyone. They called someone in to evaluate the kid (for his own safety) and the psychologists are the ones who decided to commit him. And for all we know, they called the mom first.

That was the title of the article, and yes, it is a bit misleading. But basically it's saying that the school district took the issue into their own hands, which they did. Right or wrong, the school district motivated the action, without the parent's consent. Which is entirely wrong.

puremagic

On the one hand, schools want the parents to be responsible and on the other hand these school district administrators are empowering ‘teachers’ with too much power that ‘legally’ take away a parent’s rights.

--What if the child had been attacked and/or killed in the psych ward before the parent had an opportunity to get him released.

Right or wrong, the damage is done, so yes, they may have created a future psycho, because that commitment record will follow him throughout his school years and beyond. Someone said to home school him, wouldn’t that just confirm to this child that he is a reject of a ‘structured’ society.

If he ends up less than his potential or a criminal, society will say – see told you so– and blame the parent for another disposal child.

A six year old vs a medical and teacher questioning, who losses?

pandora

puremagic wrote:

On the one hand, schools want the parents to be responsible and on the other hand these school district administrators are empowering ‘teachers’ with too much power that ‘legally’ take away a parent’s rights.

--What if the child had been attacked and/or killed in the psych ward before the parent had an opportunity to get him released.

Right or wrong, the damage is done, so yes, they may have created a future psycho, because that commitment record will follow him throughout his school years and beyond. Someone said to home school him, wouldn’t that just confirm to this child that he is a reject of a ‘structured’ society.

If he ends up less than his potential or a criminal, society will say – see told you so– and blame the parent for another disposal child.

A six year old vs a medical and teacher questioning, who losses?

Yes I mentioned that...I don't know if pulling him out to home school would confirm that to the child ...but I do see your point and may for an older child for sure. It may just be a great relief in this case. Whatever is in the best interests of the child. He may be labeled now in the school system...that could do more damage.

I only mentioned home schooling as an option because we had very good luck home schooling our older children when their school became violent and they were mentally withdrawing, their grades dropping.

In my opinion parents can evaluate the school and see if it is right for their child not assume it is the only learning situation available. It is an affordable option over private schools but requires dedication on everyones part.
In our situation, someone up there was really watching out for us cause, not long after we pulled them out, their local high school lost its Accreditation.

For us it was a good alternative.

nuffingman

Jeanwah wrote:

Dorman said what happened to her son could happen to any school-age child and that's why she's speaking out. On Monday, her 6-year-old son Jack was committed to a psychiatric ward against her wishes after he drew a violent drawing at school and wrote that he wanted to die.

"They said they were concerned about a picture he drew. I said he plays video games and it's a picture from a video game."

It sounds crazy to me but wtf is a 6 year old doing playing violent video games?

puremagic

I think home schooling is a great alternative if done properly, but home schooling would only further isolate the child which would reinforce other parent’s fears. My concern with this particular case is the way it was handled and the expanded powers given to these mandatory reporters.

We put a lot of pressure on military children to be strong, especially, boys, to be the ‘man of the house’. I think children of deployed military personnel see certain video games as them killing the bad guys, protecting Mom and country, like Dad.

Yet, we as a society only see them as children when a parent is killed in action or the line of duty. How many soldiers, policemen, firemen, clergy, etc., etc. have looked a child in the eyes and said “your Dad/Mom was a hero’. They died a ‘hero’!!! We lead them associate death and heroism. Videogames of war or other violence don’t help because someone has to be a hero.

Anyone can be a mandatory reporter because it was set up to protect children from sexual abuse. Lazy politicians, schools districts and their lawyers, and, parent organizations have taken it a step further allowing mandatory reporters to make these judgment calls in all areas of a child’s life without consulting the parents, even if it’s guess work.

These mandatory reporters can do this because they are protected with immunity from having to divulge their identity. They are protected against legal and financial prosecution, however, if a case does get filed, unlike the parents of a child who have to pay for their private lawyers, these people are covered by the taxpayers.

pandora

puremagic wrote:

I think home schooling is a great alternative if done properly, but home schooling would only further isolate the child which would reinforce other parent’s fears. My concern with this particular case is the way it was handled and the expanded powers given to these mandatory reporters.

We put a lot of pressure on military children to be strong, especially, boys, to be the ‘man of the house’. I think children of deployed military personnel see certain video games as them killing the bad guys, protecting Mom and country, like Dad.

Yet, we as a society only see them as children when a parent is killed in action or the line of duty. How many soldiers, policemen, firemen, clergy, etc., etc. have looked a child in the eyes and said “your Dad/Mom was a hero’. They died a ‘hero’!!! We lead them associate death and heroism. Videogames of war or other violence don’t help because someone has to be a hero.

Anyone can be a mandatory reporter because it was set up to protect children from sexual abuse. Lazy politicians, schools districts and their lawyers, and, parent organizations have taken it a step further allowing mandatory reporters to make these judgment calls in all areas of a child’s life without consulting the parents, even if it’s guess work.

These mandatory reporters can do this because they are protected with immunity from having to divulge their identity. They are protected against legal and financial prosecution, however, if a case does get filed, unlike the parents of a child who have to pay for their private lawyers, these people are covered by the taxpayers.

Just one thing to add to the homeschooling. I too thought it would be isolating but so many are choosing it that it is like small communities of learning,"classroom of under 10" type thing that then join others for field trips, parties, sport functions, social events. Here in GA which may be true across the country it is very mandated by hours necessary for completion and testing too.
It is a good education but requires more parental involvement, then public school. And in public school unfortunately often there is not enough parental involvement.