re: Should parents with multiple developmentally disabled childr

eh, I couldn't find anything. I think I'm remembering a rumor or a debate from about ten years ago...this HIV postitivewoman had something like ten children, all of them born with HIV, and bascially declared that she would not stop having children. Certain authorities wanted to sterilize her.

Quoting EmmaGrace:“ eh, I couldn't find anything. I think I'm remembering a rumor or a debate from about ten years ago...this ... [snip!] ... born with HIV, and bascially declared that she would not stop having children. Certain authorities wanted to sterilize her.”

Ahhhh

Well.

Not cool but i guess if she didn't have the kids they wouldn't even have had the short (p[ossibly) amount of time they WILL have?

Quoting Satan:“ Ahhhh Well. Not cool but i guess if she didn't have the kids they wouldn't even have had the short (p[ossibly) amount of time they WILL have?”

true that.

Quoting EmmaGrace:“ It is a slippery slope, and I can see where you're coming from. It's difficult to think that someone ... [snip!] ... was forced to become sterilized because of the very high chance of a baby being born with a debilitating disease or condition?”

Yes, look up "Eugenics in America". It was around the same time as the Nazis when it started and continued for a while after.

I personally would hope that they would not continue to bring seriously messed up kids into the world. It's not fair to the children or the people who have to care for them(parents or otherwise). People who do that are VERY selfish if you ask me.

I personally would not have another child .
But I do think it's their choice .

If they can afford to take care of them, and they love them just the same..I dont see why not..
having children period...is pretty selfish.. whether or not they can contribute to society.

Quoting Satan:“ SO? you tell this family they are disallowed from having kids...the next is fat people...and after that it's ugly people... You just can't set a precedent like this without it backfiring massively.”

IMO there are plenty of people who shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.

Even if they have a perfectly healthy child, that child will be burdened with caring for his/her older siblings when their parents pass. I see no good outcome, cause either they'll have another child that will be in immense pain and a burden of the state, or they're just birthing a party responsible for their other children. If the other kids are already in their 20s I have to assume the parents are at least in their 40s...how old would this new kid be when he/she had to become responsible for aging parents and 3 disabled siblings? Of course it's their right to have 40 more kids if they please, but I see a poor quality of life for a new kid, disabled or not!

Quoting thumbelina's mommy:“ Even if they have a perfectly healthy child, that child will be burdened with caring for his/her older ... [snip!] ... course it's their right to have 40 more kids if they please, but I see a poor quality of life for a new kid, disabled or not!”

I never thought about it that way but that's a good point!

Posts like this really piss me off. Why shouldn't they have more children? A disabled child is a human just like every other god damn person on this earth. Just because they aren't just like us doesn't mean a damn thing. I'm sick and tired of people treating disabled people different from themselves.  

The OP knows the family and mentioned that their children have a poor quality of life. She said that they are prone to seizures, cannot go to the bathroom on their own, are heavily drugged, and are non verbal. Everyone's reactions are based on that quality of life and the fact that the parents can't financially support the 3 kids they have. The OP also works with developmentally disabled people and was only talking about one specific family.

Quoting Irishewwie:“ Posts like this really piss me off. Why shouldn't they have more children? A disabled child is a human ... [snip!] ... just like us doesn't mean a damn thing. I'm sick and tired of people treating disabled people different from themselves.  ”

Dude, chill. I'm a freakin social worker and advocate for the disabled.

Point: this is a child that hasn't been concieved yet, not one that is even in gestation. I just don't see how a parent could be so selfish as to CHANCE bring a child into this world knowing they have a high probablity of being in PHYSICAL PAIN their whole lives, have seizures, and cannot even toilet themselves, let alone hold a job and be independant.

Quoting thumbelina's mommy:“ Even if they have a perfectly healthy child, that child will be burdened with caring for his/her older ... [snip!] ... course it's their right to have 40 more kids if they please, but I see a poor quality of life for a new kid, disabled or not!”

I was thinking this exact thing from the very start and reading throughout all the posts.. A very well-founded sentiment..

Of course on the other hand, if they are able to care for another child all the way across the board in terms of both finance and love and affection, then of course they have every right to try again.. Cause you just never know.. I just know personally I wouldn't want to see my children suffer and if their quality of life will be similar to their siblings then I think it's safe to say that they'd be suffering some in life.. Adoption seems like the best and most selfless option in this situation.. So because of the fact that there are so many kids out there already with a need, and these people aren't looking into that avenue, I personally feel that they're a VERY selfish couple.. People that I wouldn't necessarily want to associate with..

Also, this post reminds me about a news segment I watched on TV about a family of 8 - ALL 6 children have some varying degree of Autism.. It kinda makes you wonder what goes through some peoples minds.. I really wonder where I would have stopped if the cost of a big family weren't an issue for me.. 6 though?! It's still mindboggling..

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/Story?id=4245377&page=1

**edited to add: I was reading through some of the responses to this article and can understand the viewpoint of some who say that autism awareness is a relatively "new" thing and that many of them have already had multiple children BEFORE knowing anything about autism but still.. Raising an ASD child isn't easy - I just know that if my first three had turned out that way, while I'd love them with all my heart and soul, I'd know that having any more children would be a real handfull.. Disabled or not.. And therefore, not really fair to ANYONE in the situation to be actively TTC another baby..

Quoting Katelyn [*Colins Mama*]:“ Wow I never realized Autism could be so severe in that extent. How old are they?”

That's why they call autism the "spectrum disorder"...Because there are so many varying degrees of it...From highly disabled to high functioning...Same diagnosis, very differing degrees...