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

I give up. As a disabled person and the parent of a child as disabled as Aslhey I am horrified at these unneccassary operations which are soley to benefit the non-disabled care givers.

I could write loads about my dd but won't as not the right place.
but all these things could still happen given the right posture management and there is always the small chance due to the way medical science is going that she would be able to get meds that would help her as we have for my dd.)
but now they have gone down this route she will always be the same, trapped in a body that has been altered,

Things we are now struggling with:
Swimming
Theme parks (her favourite activity)
Meeting continence needs out of the house - therefore going out for longer than a couple of hours is becoming a rarity.
Physically getting a large wheelchair into public places/spaces
Scoliosis and contractures getting rapidly worse due to growth despite continual posture management.
Going to other people's houses etc as I can no longer carry her in.
Going in holiday, can't fly any more as I can't lift her. Etc etc.
Her quality of life seems to be poorer as she gets larger as she can't participate in a wide range of activities.

KalSkirata I am with you, and am now hiding this thread, the idea that this can be done to a disabled person to satisfy the needs of the care giver is wrong
and please don't tell me about cuddles.
that could have still happened

Ineedadollar i do all those things(apart form swimming as I can't swim and dh can't because of health reasons)
sorry none of those warrant invasive surgery

Are you suggesting my son's life is spent in bed all day there are things called wheechairs, adapted chairs, mobile hoists and wheelchair accessible cars.I can assure you all disabled children that I know live a full life and have had no surgery to keep them small .

How, stones? I'm open to ideas.

Sorry missed loads of posts so the previous post is a load of gobbledygook I am very old and slow at typing but can still cuddle both DC's

Totally agree with you ineedadollar. This is not about the carers needs, it is about the disabled child's ability to access a full life. If that can be done with wheelchairs, mobile hoists etc then great and I agree surgery is inappropriate. If not then you need to weigh up what life is like without surgery vs the risks of intervention plus benefits gained.

My goodness, fewer pneumonias, bedsores and better digestion sound like huge benefits to me, aside from getting out the house more!

all those things can be avoided. without going to these extremes.

How can you prevent someone catching a respiratory infection? Reduce the chances with good hygiene yes but prevent?

its called physio michaela. We've managed.
Far as I'm concerned, if you dont do it to a non disabled child, you dont do it to a disabled one.
What next - a mobile child with severe learning impairments having theirlimbs removed so they dont self harm, atack people etc? or better fucking management and support?

DD gets out of the house daily.

I know several children who self-harm whose teeth have been removed to prevent them damaging themselves, as it happens.
I don't advocate unnecessary surgery. But I do think halting growth some other way should be an option in some circumstances, including mine.
As an aside, I've been told hormonal methods of preventing periods are not an option for DD as immobile people are too high a risk for DVT.

we will be using contraceptive implant for dd despite her immobility

if the young person is in pads, they will most likely not be affected by periods anyway, as for tummy aches, simple pain killers can deal with that.
there is no need to have a hysterectomy, or remove breasts,

The 'treatment' makes me deeply uncomfortable. It seems wrong to operate on a severely disabled person to keep them child-sized. As for 'pillow angel'...

Ineedadollar, there are ways you could access a holiday abroad if you wanted to. DH and I regularly organise holidays for disabled people and there is help available for lifting on and off flights. this place is great.

We take all 5 DC's abroad 2 in wheelchairs hard work but fun. People are so helpful.