Woman neglects her son to the point he becomes a psychosocial dwarf

[Marv]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...her-DWARF.html

A mother neglected her son so badly that it caused him not to grow, a court heard today.

The nine-year-old boy was so poorly treated he developed a condition called psychosocial dwarfism.

This left him significantly shorter than his six-year-old brother, prosecutors told a judge.

Social workers called in to work with the single mother discovered that the boy was not being given breakfast, was riddled with lice and could not remember the last time he saw a doctor.

He had a decaying molar in his mouth and said that his 28 year old mother had never taught him how to brush his teeth.

Daniel Sawyer, prosecuting, said 'In 2008 police had searched her home regarding an unrelated matter and discovered the three bedroom house was untidy and grubby.'

'Social workers were called in and interviewed the boy at school. They found he had ingrained dirt on his palms and scratches on his forearms that came from a puppy.'

'He was extremely short at the age of nine and significantly shorter than his six year old brother, for which the most likely diagnosis is psychosocial dwarfism.'

'He made no eye contact with the social workers and looked at the floor the whole time.'

'Every night they would go to McDonald's and have burgers, chips or chicken nuggets. He did not have breakfast and went to school hungry.'

'He did not get regular baths and went to school smelling of urine and faeces.'

'When he went to live with his father he would eat his food very quickly and exhibit hoarding behaviour.'

'At four in the morning he would get up, take food and hide it in places.'

Psychosocial dwarfism is caused by extreme stress and causes the body to stop producing a growth hormone.
[...]

'She is still young and struggles to cope with the children on her own.' wtf?

The woman, from Portsmouth, Hants, admitted one charge of neglect at Winchester Crown Court. She was given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

She was also ordered to attend a parenting course.

Judge Peter Henry told her: 'There are reasons to think that what you did in respect of your son was not deliberate and was born out of being an inadequate parent.'

'You were only 28 and I have had a long hard think about a custodial sentence but don't think it would be appropriate in this case'

After the hearing prosecutor Mr Sawyer said since the boy had been rehoused with his father and stepmother he had begun to grow again.

1. Why didn't the teachers at the kids school pick up on this?

2. Didn't dad have any contact with his son prior to the social services finally getting involved?

3. The defence and judge deem 28 to be too young to cope with 2 kids?

4. The childs 6yr old brother was taller than him, and no mention of him also being found in a neglected state riddled with lice etc. So how was her poor treatment of the 9yr old 'not deliberate'??


She should have gone to jail for this.

[AngelFire]

'She is still young and struggles to cope with the children on her own.'

She's 28 for fuck's sake! Before 28, I was a mother of three babies. All three are now teens and are in perfect health. No one needed to tell me they required meals, teeth brushed, bathed, and cared for. She is just a useless twat. Why do courts always take into account the "poor mother" *spits*. My ass! Why not think of this poor boy that was so neglected, it affected his height. Fuck you Judge and defense, fuck you all to hell

[Valasca]

now i must look if there are other cases of psychosocial dwarfism. Odd term.

Edit: Oh, Kasper Hauser was considered to have this. That makes sense.
http://classic.rainbowkids.com/Artic...ls.aspx?id=563

[gee]

I am stuck on the 28 being too young.

1. Why didn't the teachers at the kids school pick up on this?

2. Didn't dad have any contact with his son prior to the social services finally getting involved?

3. The defence and judge deem 28 to be too young to cope with 2 kids?

4. The childs 6yr old brother was taller than him, and no mention of him also being found in a neglected state riddled with lice etc. So how was her poor treatment of the 9yr old 'not deliberate'??

I would like to know these answers too WTF

[biteme]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...her-DWARF.html







1. Why didn't the teachers at the kids school pick up on this?

2. Didn't dad have any contact with his son prior to the social services finally getting involved?

3. The defence and judge deem 28 to be too young to cope with 2 kids?

4. The childs 6yr old brother was taller than him, and no mention of him also being found in a neglected state riddled with lice etc. So how was her poor treatment of the 9yr old 'not deliberate'??


She should have gone to jail for this.

5. Why is the judge such a fucking, incredibly stupid moron?

[Pene784]

She was given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Pardon my ignorance, but does this mean she got probation?

[Jerri Blank]

Pardon my ignorance, but does this mean she got probation?

Don't feel ignorant Pene, I have no idea either how one gets a 12 month term suspended for the next 24 months. What is that?

I think their confusing psychosocial dwarfism with the effects of malnutrition. the boy was is school and doesn't sound like he was mentally stunted, with is part in parcel with psychosocial dwarfism (Dani: The girl in the window - example)

I'm not defending this woman in any way, just saying the justices in this case are all pretty lazy and stupid for all reasons mentioned in this thread. it's like they just threw this case together, then right into the garbage.

[LissaLou]

I have heard the term, "failure to thrive." Is this the same thing? It happens when children are neglected and I have read where even children who had their basic needs met, but was not shown any affection at all, still didn't grow as much as much as they should.

[Echo]

She is 28 years old not 17. They should have thrown the book at her and placed him (and his brother) with parents that would love them and try to undo the damage she has done.

I would like to slap that judge. What the fuck was he/she thinking?

[Shadow]

"Failure to thrive" is often used to describe an infant who is not thriving, despite parental efforts to feed the child. It usually happens when a child has allergies that are unknown.
It's also seen in the elderly some times.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/...rticlekey=6483

while this situation does 'loosely fit' the description offered in the link, I don't think that intentional starvation (I keep thinking of the Child Called It) doesn't really apply.

Just my thoughts.

~ceisdsgil

[XenMojo]

Don't feel ignorant Pene, I have no idea either how one gets a 12 month term suspended for the next 24 months. What is that?

I think their confusing psychosocial dwarfism with the effects of malnutrition. the boy was is school and doesn't sound like he was mentally stunted, with is part in parcel with psychosocial dwarfism (Dani: The girl in the window - example)

I'm not defending this woman in any way, just saying the justices in this case are all pretty lazy and stupid for all reasons mentioned in this thread. it's like they just threw this case together, then right into the garbage.

Oh my. I was teetering on the brink throughout that entire video on Danielle. The singing of "I Will" at the end pushed me over the edge. Time for another cup of coffee and more tissues.

[nurseronda]

"Failure to thrive" is often used to describe an infant who is not thriving, despite parental efforts to feed the child. It usually happens when a child has allergies that are unknown.
It's also seen in the elderly some times.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/...rticlekey=6483

while this situation does 'loosely fit' the description offered in the link, I don't think that intentional starvation (I keep thinking of the Child Called It) doesn't really apply.

Just my thoughts.

~ceisdsgil

I am more into thinking that it could be a genetic problem.

[ineedanap]

If you read the article linked, it actually states that psychosocial dwarfism in also called failure to thrive. Any time I have been exposed to the FTT term, it has been as Ceisdsgil said, the result of a medical condition, likely unknown allergies. After reading the link, I don't think the 2 terms should be used interchangeably, because PD seems so much more severe, and as a result of abuse, whereas FTT, as I have always heard the term, had nothing to do with abuse.

BTW, I read this post because I had no clue what psychosocial dwarfism was. Why is it one child has it, while another does not??

[Silvahalo]

PD is so sad and not the same as failure to thrive tho they do have similar attributes and ftt can be from neglect as you usually hear it reference in articles that way with newborns. However, it can be a medical reason baby is not thriving too. PD on the other hand is imposed on a child by severe neglect and psychological stress that is compounded over time.

I met a child once at the Dell Hospital for children that I swore WAS a dwarf but actually suffered from PD. Most children if put in healthy environment with therapy recover. Some however in extreme case like in Dani's case (Jerry's post), never overcome all the damage done to them.

This woman is a joke, not a mother and the damage done to her son will live with him well beyond his physical recovery.
The judge and her should go fuck themselves.

Heal little one in every possible way.

[Saffron]

I think what they are meaning is that the damage done to the boy was done years ago when she was younger. I'm not defending her but the six year old is normal and growing. The nine year old was perhaps not fed enough for the first 2-3 years of his life which damaged his endocrine system and now he cannot grow even when fed. The lice? I know many kids where one kid has lice and the other doesn't.... I think we need to know more about the situation... if she were unemployed and not getting child support until they caught up with his dad, she may have done the best she could. I've not been in her shoes...

[CanuckGramz]

I agree, what is the judge thinking??? I didn't mean to not feed you, not clothe you or get the lice out your hair. I didn't mean to either not notice or not care that you were shorter than your younger brother. Instead of McDonalds they could have put that money towards fruit and veggies and some filling pasta! (maybe the kid is small out of reaction to the hormones and chemicals in fast food- just kidding...sort of)

Oh and I had FIVE children by age 27! By choice!! ( having the twins last was just a handy and fun bonus) I loved the parenting. Their bio dad not so much. He was out to prove that one can be an absentee father while living with his wife and children. Even while struggling to live on Welfare with my brood, and dealing with fibromyalgia , a back injury in a car accident and catching pneumonia every winter, I fed and clothed my kids, loved on them, fed them, loved on them, read to them, loved on them, home schooled them ( until they begged to go to school to get away from mom hahaha) They're not only " normal" ( albeit my viewpoint) They're moral, most of them have some sort of faith, they are community minded ( they were all busily volunteering by mid high school) and love each other ( okay some times they only tolerate each other) And we've all agreed that the first one who goes to jail we will all visit. No bail though. With my five, and hubby's two, who can afford bail??)

No matter what age you can be an excellent parent in most circumstances!!!

[ImmortalOne]

Here is some more information on the Dwarfism, it is not always linked to Abuse if I am reading it correctly : Article

Now... if the kid was that bad why did no adult in his life notice shit wrong before now? I cannot say its Dad's fault, the girl I have custody of didn't see her dad for many years because mom was psychotic and would freak out on him every time she saw him.

28 years old is young? Really? I thought having my daughter at 17 was young, I guess I was just an infant then. My husband is 29 years old, I guess he is incapable of caring for our 4 children and the new child we took in. Wow, if I had only known!

Seriously some of this article rings with BS with things like "He had scratches on his forearm from a puppy" - really? How is that relievant to this entire case?

And yes she got probation, that is exactly what they did.