Police forcibly hospitalize seven-year-old in mental ward

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

THANKS FOR SHARING!!!

What is the Baker Act ? Hmmmm..now I need to click further

Wow. So, they couldn't handle him so they thought he was mentally ill? It seemed too easy for them to do this.

That is crap!!!!! imo

If you read the whole article you'll find that he has done this before and is a major problem at school. I'd look into his home life because it seems this child can't control his temper and lashes out.

IT is a shame that the police are abusing the Baker Act. The Baker act is a very handy tool, if NJ had the Bakers act my grandaughter 's mother could have been foricbly comited to an institution and received medical care instead of dying. IT is abuse like this that only a few states have the Bakers Act.

Yeah Elizabeth, if he had assaulted your child, that would be crap, too.

I think they should have called his parents to come and get the little unruly boy.

Lera, I read it the same way. The article said they had to clear the room because of his behavior and they have had problems with him in the past. If this child has these anger bouts/tantrums and is being destructive and out of control in the classroom.... I wouldn't want my kid in the same room! How many chances should he be given? How badly does he have to hurt someone before they get him help? What if it was your child he hurt badly?

I'm sure we're only going to hear a lot about the the family's side of the story, but since the police and school will be legally bound to not talk about the case because the kid is a juvenille... the news will be very one-sided!

wow

oh my

Wow that's scary!

There's no way the Baker act is being used reasonably with those statistics. Several more that very day? That's outrageous.

Lune; "There's no way the Baker act is being used reasonably with those statistics. Several more that very day? That's outrageous. "

I would not be so quick there, although there is a reasonable chance that you are right. If this case is as it looks, the Police made a good call. Now if there is a rash of cases like this, it could be something causing issues with the kids, maybe food, water, some treatment they are getting, could be effecting some allergy or other cause.

If what the whole article said is true, it might be time to look a various factors and see what is causing this.

In this particular case, I think the child needed to be removed. If this is happening on a regular basis I believe he should be tested for autism or some other MR/DD.

I know in Pennsylvania, police overstepping their bounds is so common, nobody gives it a second glance anymore. It's a sad, sad statement.

Acting out is behavior of desperation, not mental instability. The child needs appropriate (a p p r o p r i a t e) attention.

A seven year old (at least) who is so out of control that he tears up an entire room, and causes adults to be fearful for the safety of other children is not just "acting out". The parents were called, and it sounds from the article like they are in major denial here. I would not be so quick to conclude there was an abuse of the Baker Act.

I would not want this child in a regular classroom with other children. The behavior in and of itself is disturbing for young children to witness, let alone be victim to.

Sounds like this child has a serious emotional behavior disorder that needs to be addressed. Maybe the parents aren't all they're cracked up to be, and/or unwilling to get the child the help he needs.

Maybe this will be a wake-up call for the parents.

The parents may not be in denial. They may not know what to do next.

I lived for years as a parent to a special needs child who seemed to defy diagnosis, and the only thing people did was blame the parents for the problem. Where didn't we turn for help? As for wake-up calls, there were many. Ultimately I had to relocate halfway around the world to get help for him; fortunately, it was the right move and today he is in college, already after the difficult days of childhood. There is no minimizing what difficulties there were nor the despair that we, the parents, felt in trying to find the right treatment for him. And, yes, once an attempt was made to institutionalize him without our consent; fortunately, that attempt was foiled.

There are no easy answers when dealing with a special needs child. It's a very difficult thing to experience, for the parents as well as the child.

You're right, Maurice. We only know the very little that was in this article, and coping with a special need can be overwhelming. On the other hand, I still think that before it is chalked up as an abuse of the Baker Act, consideration should be given to the severity of the child's actions, the inability to bring him under control, and the officials' concern that the child needed some kind of evaluation that he had not received despite previous difficulties. I don't wish a situation like this on any family.

Libramon-Acting out can be due to desperation of some kind. However, it is also a very big indicator of some kind of MR/DD. In fact, the desperation can be due to an MR/DD. Something having to due with over stimultion. IF that were the case getting treatment for that child can stop the acting out. Appropriate could be anything from meds to counseling to some special attention. I come from a long line of people who deal with MR/DD children.