Your opinion on the 'Ashley treatment'?

[crashdoll]

This article is about a teenage girl in America with severe disabilities. Her parents put her through a lot of treatment to prevent her going through puberty. To some extent, I can understand their motives but removing her breast buds and putting her through a hysterectomy? That sounds sound too far to me.

Sorry it's the DM.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2115904/Ashley-treatment-Should-parents-stop-disabled-children-growing-up.html

what if they can't talk and are tube fed, do we chop the head off?
it is beyond sick to take womanhood away from someone with no voice.

dd would be very very small 2shoes, after all that....

I know, so would a lot of young people.
it makes me angry to see people compare young people with babies.
very

children and adults with learning impairments are the last to get a voice and have their rights protected I think.
And 'pillow angel' makes me want to boak

yes the cute factor, they are adults. Surgery should be only done to improve
their lives not ours. BTW what is wrong with periods mood swings are due to the ovaries so lets remove them,bugger me early menopause stuff them full of hormones. Oh DD dribbles constantly perhaps we should stitch her mouth up cos it is not nice.

periods and moods swings can be dealt with, I know I deal with it.
it is part of life, Same As Kal, I wonder how they deal with boys, how do they stop them getting erections.having wet dreams and things like that?

Isn't it in Ashley's interests to be cuddled though? Or are cuddles just for the parents convenience? Or maybe you don't believe them when they said they could not cope with hoists etc? They and the teacher quoted above are saying the same thing. It is predicated on the belief that the children / young women are of similar mental capacity to a young baby, which is really hard to objectively assess in movement restricted people so perhaps this is where the disagreement lies?

All surgery has benefits and risks. There are some people, very few but some, where amputating legs might be of benefit to the patient yes. Doing so is not an infringement of SN rights IMHO and that patient should not be prevented from having that surgery because in general for most SN patients chopping off legs randomly WOULD be wrong. Case by case.

why can't you cuddle a child/ a teen/ an adult
I cuddle my 16 yr old.
what a sorry excuse.
and I disagree that it is ok to liken a person to a baby.

Of course you can cuddle a bigger person it just takes a bit more thought my 13yr old sounds very similar to KalSkirta's DD needs handling with care.

'cant cope with hoists' . Yup, they mess up the ceiling paintwork and are a bit of a faff. dd has to be hoisted all the time. But damn site easier than chopping bits of her off.
One thing that struck me is they did this thing when the girl was 6. my dd is as physically impaired. She has no speech, cant move a muscle blah de blah and for 5 years the so-called experts told me she had the mind of a baby. Consultants, doctors, therapists, teachers. The lot.
She doesnt and now communicates via an extremely high tech gadget. Imgaine if we'd acted on the doctors assumptions.
But like I said, intellectual impairment is not a good reason to take away someones rights and subject them to needless medical intervention and surgery. This surgery and the 100 others that have followed are about the convenience of others apart from the disabled person.

I don't know your personal situation. Butt my guess about Ashley is that if the child is the same size and weight as you but unable to hold her head upright then cuddling is restricted to pressing your body against their chair restrained body or lying down on a bed together.

In their website the parents also say that a smaller weight helps prevent physical problems from lying prone for the majority of the time and enables them to include her more in family activities eg to take her out in the car or maximize the time she is in other rooms with family rather than in her own room.

Babies are people. It is only offensive to compare someone's mental capacity and needs to those of a baby if it is not true, surely?

I have a child with the mental ability of a 4 month old, if that. If I had the power to have kept her toddler sized, i would do it. I'm not sure I could put my child through that surgery though. Kal and 2shoes I see your point(s) but I notice you have children who are intellectually intact, perhaps that is the difference? The thought that I might not be able to cuddle her properly or even care for her once she is bigger than me breaks my heart

Sorry cross posted that was to stonesour

I remember the original thread 2shoes! Hope you are OK, haven't seen you around much (partly as I am seldom here), and you are all well. Especially your ds.

but with correct posture management the child would not have to lie prone.
did they look in to this first? as for cuddles. sorry you just have to be imaginative.
hoist are not bad things, i have them in 3 rooms in my house. they are brilliant, they are not the devils work.
oh ok they arn't pretty, they are time consuming, but much better than the alternative.
and yes babies are very small people.
Ahsley was not a baby when her parents put her through these ops.

Hoists are not much fun if you have severe contractures and scream and sob when you are hoisted. And lack the mental capacity to understand why the hell someone is putting you through it.

oh yeah cos major intrusive life changing operations are such fun, especially when no doubt there will be long term side affects.

why is intellect relevent ineedadollar? dd has severe contractures, dislocated hips etc. There are many many different types of sling and if your young person is in pain when being hoisted the OT should sort the bloody sling out

please don't get me wrong, I sympathise 100% with the situation.
but if these things are "allowed" then who knows when it will end.

Stonesour - notice how I said it was the operations I wasn't comfortable with.
Kal - only because I wonder if it changes a parent's perspective on the situation.

it wouldnt change mine cos I think people with intelectual impairments have the same rights.
Physically we have exactly the same issues as Ashleys parents. Hoisting, contractures etc
Its no worse or no better

From the parents website...

The main benefit of the height and weight reduction is that Ashley can be moved considerably more often, which is extremely beneficial to her health and well being. Currently, one person can carry Ashley, versus requiring two people or a hoisting harness and ropes, should she have grown larger. As a result, Ashley can continue to delight in being held in our arms and will be moved and taken on trips more frequently and will have more exposure to activities and social gatherings (for example, in the family room, backyard, swing, walks, bathtub, etc.) instead of lying down in her bed staring at TV (or the ceiling) all day long. In addition, the increase in Ashley?s movement results in better blood circulation, GI functioning (including digestion, passing gas), stretching, and motion of her joints.

I would only do it to enhance my child's quality of life though, Kal, not to take anything away. I don't understand how having a fully grown body would benefit my child, could you explain please? I can only see negatives right now.

funny how they dont suggest it for all quadriplegic children if its so fab....
We have no problems taking dd in her wheelchair everywhere, she is included in everything and always will be. She has physio and stands in a standing frame at school.
Everything listed can be sorted another way. I cant believe they left her staring at the TV all day in bed!

Because its her body Ineed.