Nine Children Found Caged in Ohio Home

[no_to_war_economy]

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/4961890/detail.html

Nine children were found locked in cages in their home in Wakeman in Huron County Monday, NewsChannel5 reported.

The sheriff said the kids, ages 1 to 14, were found in the cages with no blankets or pillows. The wooden cages, estimated to be about 3 foot by 3 foot, were built into the walls. Officials are not releasing the photos of the cages.

Officials said the parents thought they were doing what was best for the children.

"Basically, the parents thought they were providing for the protection of the children from themselves and from each other," said Huron County's Lt. Randy Sommers. "They thought it was circumstances that warranted the cages at night."

Officials added that the parents believed that because the children were autistic they should be kept in the cages for protection from each other.

[darkism]

1. OK, this one...

...made me yell "what the FUCK?!" aloud.

Pardon my French, but that's just fucked up.

[Atman]

2. Fundie Christians, by chance? Red state Ohio Bushbots?

me wants more info!

[mike_c]

4. can't find any additional info on them in a cursory search....

eom

[Judi Lynn]

35. Here's an updated story:Eleven Children Found Caged in Ohio Home

Eleven Children Found Caged in Ohio Home

Monday, September 12, 2005

(09-12) 21:20 PDT Wakeman, Ohio (AP) --

Sheriff's deputies found 11 children locked in cages less than 3 1/2 feet high inside a home, but a couple denied they had abused or neglected the children.

A judge on Monday put the children — who range in age from 1 to 14 and who have various disabilities, including autism — in foster homes.

The children were found in nine cages built into the walls of the house near this small city in northern Ohio, according to the Huron County Sheriff's Office. They had no blankets or pillows, and the cages were rigged with alarms that sounded if opened, Lt. Randy Sommers said.

The children told authorities they slept in the cages — 40 inches high and 40 inches deep — at night. Doors to some of the cages were blocked with heavy furniture.
(snip/...)

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/12/national/a181932D40.DTL

[politicat]

39. This article mentions that a psychiatrist suggested the cages....

Some days, I'm ashamed of those I must call colleagues.

[KDLarsen]

46. Thought the news overhere said 11 too..

.. thanks for the update! How the hell can some of the older children have been able to function if they're forced to "sleep" in such a small cage? I mean, it's nowhere near possible to stretch out.

[Tight_rope]

61. "A woman who identified herself as Sharen Gravelle's mother..."

A woman who identified herself as Sharen Gravelle's mother but refused to give her name said the children were happy and loved. "This year they have played and had fun and laughed like no other children have, which they have never been able to do," she said.

WHAT THE FUCK!....THIS MUST BE SOME MORAN DISEASE PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. Just because the kids laughed and played this year makes it ok to lock them up all the years before and years after.

GOD DAMNIT....WHY LORD WHY!

[Strabo]

69. after a little bit of searching...

I found a Vince Gravelle on the FEC's website who lives about 45 minutes away who's given $2,200 to the rethugs. A search on Anywho shows about fourteen "Gravelle's" in Ohio, but does not list Mike or Sharon/Sharen Gravelle. So, are they related? Could be. Even so, having a family member of one particular political persuasion doesn't mean that ALL members of the family have the same inclination, as I'm sure most of us can attest to.

[politicat]

3. Sad to say, but it's all too common.

We'll probably find out that they were involved in holding therapy or something very similar. That's a common pattern in holding family houses - cage or lock the children up, limit their food, and then punish them more when they misbehave.

And yet... social services will give more kids to these families practicing this because they're willing to step up.

[Dora]

5. OMG. Are you saying it's a trend? n/t

[54anickel]

17. Looks like it - Google Holding Therapy. Here's the 1st hit of many

Though there's nothing on caging them.

The Dangers of Holding Therapy
http://www.naturalchild.com/jan_hunt/holding_therapy.html

Holding therapy is a practice described and recommended in the book Holding Time, by Martha Welch. It consists of forced holding by a therapist or parent until the child stops resisting or until a fixed time period has elapsed; sometimes the child is not released until there is eye contact. Although this technique was initially intended for autistic adults, it has also been used for autistic children, teenagers and younger children with "attachment disorders", and infants with "residual birth trauma".

Proponents of this practice defend it as being "for the child's own good," the very same justification that many use for spanking and other punishments. Because it is labeled "therapy", it can be difficult to regulate this practice by professionals or to help parents to recognize its dangers.

[politicat]

27. Normally, rather than caging, the children are locked into "rage rooms"

which are small, bare rooms without windows, usually tiled and with a drain in the middle (so that the room - and sometimes the child - can be hosed down with high pressure water). The locks are usually deadbolts or padlocks from the outside, meaning that the child has no way to escape in an emergency (versus being sent to one's room, where there are emergency exits).

NOTE: I'm not against adoption, and not anti-adoptive parenting -- to the contrary, in fact, since I am an adopted child and that is the only way I would ever parent a child myself. I'm very much an adoption advocate. What I am against is claiming that adoption makes children mentally ill and using that as a justification for physically and emotionally abusing them. Most adoptive parents do not, and never have abused their children. Most adoptive parents are heroes of the first order.... It's the exceptions that we have to be fight (as always. It's never the rule.)

Construction of a rage room is about $1000; it is sometimes covered by medical insurance or the state as an adaptive remodel to the family home for the adopted child (under the same guidelines as a ramp or widening doors for a wheelchair bound child would be). It is possible that the family chose to use cages or dog crates instead because they were cheaper.

The scary fact is that people who adopt or foster 6, 10, or 14 kids get a lot of subsidies for it, especially if the kid can be classed as handicapped in any way. These poor kids come into the home with their previous emotional baggage (and most have some baggage - I'm not saying they don't). Initially, the foster/adoptive parent expects the kid to just drop the baggage and become a TV perfect kid, happy and comfortable in a foreign environment. When that doesn't happen, the parents look for answers, and usually find them in attachment/holding therapy circles. Then they can blame the kid for being defiant, oppositional, unattached, remote, whatever, instead of examining themselves and coming to terms with their unrealistic expectations.

I'm not saying that's what's happening in OH; we don't have enough data. All I've got is a gut instinct and the knowledge that there's a center for Attachment therapy in Ohio that has a lot of common ties with the one that we got shut down out here.

[DBoon]

33. "small, bare rooms without windows, usually tiled and with a drain'!!!!!!

I visited Berlin some years ago.

We saw the former cells of the Gestapo, preserved after the war. They were as described.

[Lecky]

42. Good God...

I've never heard about what you just described but I am seriously disturbed by the fact that these crazies even exist...and it's a trend.

People like that should be locked away forever, how horrible.

[Demeter]

57. This is not good therapy for Autistic Impaired

The holding is supposed to be as an infant, in parental, loving arms, to build the social connection and provide a sense of security for a child whose nervous system is always on high alert. I did that for three years, and I'm sure that's why my daughter is as sociable as she is.

[TrogL]

67. YOU'VE GOT TO BE FSCKING KIDDING

I'm in the Autistic Spectrum (Asperger's) and no way would this work with me or any other Aspie I know. If we've had a meltdown it's because we've been over-socialized, possibly by being touched or held beyond our capability to cope. More touching or holding is just going to make matters worse. To add insult to injury is to expect any sort of eye contact. If I do make eye contact under those circumstances, it means I've remembered where I left my favourite axe.

[UncleSepp]

68. Agree with you there Trog

My parents did the forced holding with me when I was a toddler. I don't remember any of it, but it took me a very long time to be able to touch and hold in a normal way without feeling trapped.

[politicat]

24. Yes. I've been an expert witness in two cases out here, and

am on the board of directors of an organization that is trying to get the therapeutic practices that lead to this type of thing called what it is (child abuse), ban government funding of these practices and make it impossible for people who use this type of therapy to get their hands on foster and adopted children. It's nasty stuff; I was first exposed when a little girl died in a community near mine.

If you want more information on cases of this sort, you might look into
http://www.childrenintherapy.org/ and the stories they have there (I am not associated with them; they just have solid information).

[LeighAnn]

25. Adoptive parents ~ please note

Almost every time you hear one of these "kids locked in cages" or closets or whatever, the parents are not the ones who actually gave birth to them. Almost always adoptive parents.
These kids were removed from parents who were deemed unfit and gave them to these psychopaths. Happens too often. Adopting from the state is lucrative $$$. They give adoptive parents far more than what they'd give a struggling family on welfare.

[politicat]

28. Yep... much money goes into an adopted child that a birth parent

can't get.

While I believe that adoption can be a great and wonderful thing, and encourage it when all other options fail, I also believe that birth parents should have access to the same resources that adoptive parents get.

There would be far fewer kids in group situations and foster care if birth parents had that type of access.

[jody]

50. How "much money goes into an adopted child that a birth parent can't get"?

I personally know several dozen children who have been adopted and I also know their parents don't receive a penny of aid.

Do you mean children in foster homes?

[LeighAnn]

80. "Adoption Subsidy"

Here's a link that will tell you what your state pays if you adopt out of foster care

http://www.nacac.org/subsidy_stateprofiles.html

Generally, kids over the age of 5, non-whites, etc.

[marshall]

83. Adoption credit

There is an adoption tax credit given. Currently it is a little over $10,000. Harold Ford, congressman from Tennessee, has introduced HR 1561 that seeks to raise the credit to $15,000.

[Dervill Crow]

71. I'm not aware of money available to adopted kids.

I know a couple whose adoptive son has reactive attachment disorder, and I don't know if they kept him locked in his room at night, but it would be a good idea. They did have a therapist who used the holding technique on him as a last-resort modality. He's just plain dangerous, has run out in traffic, beat up on kids in daycare and school, threatened to kill his parents, and it just plain scares me to think of what he will be like as an adult. It's heartbreaking, because his parents are very kind and loving people who had absolutely no idea what kind of damaged was done to this poor little guy when he was younger. He was from an orphanage in Siberia. They will never be out of debt from what it cost them for the adoption and the thousands of dollars they have spent on failed treatments for their son.

[missingthebigdog]

76. Many States provide money

Your friend's case is different- they adopted the child from a foreign country. States provide money and medical care as an incentive to adopt children in the system who have disabilities. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to place these kids. It is hard to place foster care kids under the "best" of circumstances. Kids with disabilities would end up in institutions were it not for the state's willingness to provide this incentive.

That said, there are always people who will take advantage of this kind of thing. Better screening is imperative. Who on earth would think it a good idea to place 11 special needs kids in one household????

I have three autistic children. They are of varying severity. I understand the impulse to lock up the kids- my children were very difficult to handle, especially when they were younger. It was so hard to keep them safe, as they would climb out windows and over fences. The "mentor" I was assigned had an electric fence to keep her child in the yard. She justified this by saying, basically, that it was better he get a little shock than escape and be hit by a car. I said I would never do such a thing, and I have not. Instead, my kids are supervised constantly, and there are audible alarms on all points of egress. I don't think I've slept more than 3 consecutive hours in 10 years. But that is what it takes, and my husband and I vowed long ago to do whatever it takes. If a parent does not have that level of commitment, they are not appropriate for an autistic child.

Just my 2 cents.

[EC]

6. I just cannot understand this mindset

to cause harm for money. And where was Ohio's Social Services? Even when I did Day Care for the state back in the 70's, we had home visits, once a month...More cut budgets - and privitization...I'll bet....


Some Democrat in that state had better step up to the plate and start screaming loud about the root causes of things like this happening....on so many levels this is about money...

[KamaAina]

7. Culture of life, my ass!

:grr: :banghead:

[Timefortruth]

16. Life is valued for the fetal and the permanently vegetative.

These kids could breath and feed themselves which renders their lives unworthy of protection.

[all.of.me]

18. yes! people that cannot speak out against the administration!

:eyes:

[Mad_Dem_X]

53. Bingo!

Once you're born and can think, you're on your own.

[theHandpuppet]

48. But at least gays can't adopt!!

:sarcasm:

[xyzpdq_us]

8. Sick to my stomach

Hope the "parents" resisted arrest. Some people truly deserve a good, sound beating.

[DBoon]

34. The parents are the ones who should be in cages

nt

[MissB]

9. "bat-shit crazy parents that shouldn't be allowed near kids"

missb's alternative headline.

[Fridays Child]

10. What the fucking hell is wrong with people?

:mad:

[slackmaster]

12. There's nothing at all wrong with MOST people

:argh:

Aside from stupidity and ignorance, that is.

[slackmaster]

11. All kinds of premature assumptions being made already

The only thing we can be really sure of is the adults who are supposed to be caring for those children are seriously messed up people.

[moobu2]

45. Maybe premature but the assumptions are based on logic

I watched the local news this morning and they interview their next door Neighbor who said the parents were constantly constructing a church structure against the house they lived in. No surprise, they’re fundies. But I’ll make another assumption. I believe they will get a slap on the wrist BECAUSE their Christians and Christians will defend their behavior. They weren’t even arrested. I assume that since they’re weird Christians, they’re probably right wing anti-woman’s right to choose nuts and probably voted for *.

[slackmaster]

66. Thanks for the information and FYI I'm not even slightly surprised

I assume that since they’re weird Christians, they’re probably right wing anti-woman’s right to choose nuts and probably voted for *.

A safe assumption at this point. But to clarify where I'm coming from, the last big abuser of multiple children we had here in California was by no means a Christian.

[Timefortruth]

13. There was a W sticker on the back window, no doubt. nt

[hollowdweller]

14. I bet they are pro life.

[54anickel]

15. Cages in the walls? Just what does that mean? You'd think they

could be a bit more descriptive than that. Walls aren't that thick for cryin' out loud.

[pro_blue_guy]

20. That's disgusting.

I live about 10 minutes away from where this happened. I just watched this story on UPN-TV 43 (19 Action News) out of Cleveland (it was their first story on the 10 o'clock newscast). I nearly cried.....seriously.

And during this story on the news, they showed some sort of home-made church shed in the foster parent's back yard with a wooden cross in the ground. It's sick to think these people consider themselves Christians (that's how I personally feel).

The story also showed the reactions and disgust of the neighbors.

I'm really saddened that something could happen like this in our quiet, mainly-rural part of the state.

[ChoralScholar]

62. I picture cages built into the wall, much like a refrigerator or some such

EOM

[sakabatou]

19. Holy jeebus on a stick!

[rodeodance]

21. "all the children were adopted"--someone not doing their job.

....The children were taken to Fisher-Titus Medical Center. They are listed in good condition.

Officials said all the children were adopted children. Sharon and Mike Gravelle, the parents, have not been arrested. They had 11 children in all.

[Lecky]

43. Why haven't they been arrested I wonder?

There is something very wrong with the law if that couple is allowed to get away with this.

[54anickel]

22. Now it's 11 children, "various disabilities, including autism"

http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3840900

[ninkasi]

23. This is only my personal experience

Back in the late 1960's, when my daughter was about 3, a friend approached me to see if I would be willing to provide care for 2 girls, 9 and 4. I was a stay at home mom, with 2 boys, 8 and 5, and a girl of 3. This was for a single mom, friend of hers, said had gone through 2 or 3 babysitters already, because the youngest was out of control.

I agreed, and the children came to stay with us every day for a couple of years. I never found out what problems the youngest caused, because she was a perfect angel with me. All I did was to provide love, lots of it, and laughter. I'm not an expert, or a professional, and this proves nothing, except that sometimes, children respond best to people they feel care for them. Maybe these people didn't care.

[chookie]

26. Sounds like you have a gift

I bet that you're just deeply a good person.

It is rare that anyone will turn away from love....

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. I suspect you're right...

9 autistic adopted children under the same roof?

That sounds awfully suspicious to me. Nine children deprived of love and affection could give the appearance of being autistic, I'll bet.

What kind of adoption agency would not have investigated this family?
This makes me sick... :cry:

[mzmolly]

30. Uhm, where is it recommended that autistic children be caged?

And please explain the lack of bedding in those protective cages?!

Jeez, people are twisted!

[earth mom]

31. OMFG!!!

:wtf:

What is the HELL is wrong with some people?! Do they not have a lick of common sense or decency or humanity???!!! Words can NOT convey how this makes me feel!!!

:grr:

:argh:

:banghead:

:puke:

:rant:

:cry:

[Erika]

32. I could never "cage" a child

and I damn them for doing so along with the system who placed these children in this "home".

[cyr330]

36. At the risk of sounding crazy. . .

There are some children in my neighborhood I wouldn't mind seeing caged. . . .

[moobu2]

37. some people just should not be allowed to breed....damn!

[moobu2]

38. or adopt

[genieroze]

64. Some people shouldn't be allowed to adopt either, it's usually the ones

that shouldn't be allowed to breed.

[Rainscents]

40. Don't they know, it's a child abuse what they were doing?

[ladylibertee]

41. When I moved from the Southwest to the Midwest, I ....

knew the people were a little off, but I did'nt know they were this crazy.I'm sorry, but thats just stupid.Major Child Abuse and I hope they are locked up for quite some time.

[MrsMatt]

58. Are you saying you know these people

personally? Or are you making a generalization about all Midwestern people being a "little off"?

[moobu2]

44. Just heard on news the parents were Fundie Christians--surprise

NOT.

The news said they were buiding a church at their house.

[ninkasi]

47. What is it with some fundies?

These people were apparently Christian fundies, but the same applies to other religions as well. They seem to cloak the most vile and dark behavior in the name of whichever god they worship. I suspect that many of them know deep inside that they are twisted and not right, they turn to the holy scriptures of their religion in an attempt to give legitimacy to their depraved actions.

We have laws to protect religion in this country, which is a good thing. It protects us from having a state sponsored religion, although Christian fundies are trying to change that. Caging children, though, is child abuse, and regardless of our traditions of allowing freedom of worship, people can't treat children like animals and wave the Bible as defense.

These people are dangerous; if the children have any kind of behavioral problems, they need to receive help from people qualified to give it. Even if the kids were perfectly normal in the beginning, it seems to me that it would be almost impossible for them to be without problems now.

[theHandpuppet]

49. It's a form of mental illness

That kind of fundmentalism -- no matter the religion -- steers religion into the realm of cults.

[ninkasi]

55. You're right.

It is a form of mental illness, but one which allows the mentally ill to get away with things that they otherwise couldn't, because they claim it's done as part of their religious beliefs. Those poor children, I only hope they find help, and love, and are able to heal from their hideous experience.

[OzarkDem]

81. Recall Abnormal Psych class in college

Obession with religion and religious extremism are both symptoms of a variety of mental illnesses.

Back in the 70's I though it referred to the poor people you see on the street corners carrying signs and yelling. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think religious obsessives would become part of mainstream society.

[HughBeaumont]

51. WAKEMAN!!!! Holy flying SHIT that figures.

I used to live about an SUV's catapult away from that city . . . man, you talk about a backwoods HICKville where serial killers would bury their bodies. If we ever had to drive past "UncleDadVille", it was mighty fast, because you just got a creepy feeling just being there. This is the type of haven that people write movies like Frailty about. Fundies galore live in that village, along with a few scattered racists, child abusers (like the ones above) and meth addicts. Most of the houses are old; we're talking haunted and broken down old, not vintage and elegant old.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

52. i used to live near wakeman, too

in lorain county about 30 years ago.

[HoosierClarkie]

54. "They worked all the time carrying rocks.

It was non-stop continuous," neighbor Ron Wilkerson said.
They Built their own church. Huh? People must have known they were crazy for a long time and did nothing. Doesn't it take a long time to BUILD your own church? WTF

[moobu2]

56. Where did you get the neighbors name?

I need a link. I saw it on TV but not online and I mentioned it on another forum now this fundie wants proof...lol

[HoosierClarkie]

63. From the link

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/4961890/detail.html

[moobu2]

70. Oh thanks...I guess they either

updated the article or I'm more blind than I thought I was.

[goddess40]

59. Didn't anyone know these kids existed- weren't they missed at school?

Didn't neighbors know they were there?

undisgustlingbelieveable!!

Edit: They did know they existed - I guess I should have read the article before I posted. They were adopted but weren't required to do anything but pick up the checks for them. Someone needs to go to prison besides the two sorry excuses for parents.

[Tight_rope]

60. UNFUCKING BELIEVEABLE!....

These Fucking Fundie Christians never cease to amaze me!

[LibertyLover]

65. Holding therapy

My adopted 3 year old has tantrums and a neighbor suggested that I investigate holding therapy. I bought the book but haven't had time to read it yet. Based on what I'm reading here, I think that it's one of those books on child care that I'm going to throw out and not bother with. How sad for these children. I hope that they are given all the help they need to recover from the trauma inflicted on them.

[K8-EEE]

74. Please, No "Holding Therapy!"

I have an autistic daughter, this is considered torture for them. It's a hard line always between "helping" and "forcing" them to like what we like. I've heard a lot of autistics say this was one of the most traumatic things ever, they experience it almost like a rape, a violation.

My daughter tantrummed horribly at 3 -- basically just like any other child, you make sure she isn't getting anything positive from doing it. Like even if we ordered in a restaurant, if she acted up, I'd just leave. Even if the food just came, just throw money on the table and leave! If you are consistent about that, they find other ways. A lot of kids just are frustrated because they have a hard time expressing things.

[CoffeeCat]

77. I have two children, ages 4 and 5....

...and all 3 year olds have tantrums.

I think our society needs to chill out and realize that human beings get sad, angry, disgusted, frustrated, depressed and confused sometimes.

It's part of being a human being.

A child is still learning what emotions are, and how to control them. My God--sometimes I lose my temper or swear when I'm frustrated. Three year olds have tantrums because they haven't learned yet how to assimilate overwhelming emotions. They will.

Parents must teach their children that emotions are healthy and help them to develop self control and teach them to express those emotions in healthy ways.

We don't need to hold our children down and pound out their last ounce of humanity by restraining them like animal control does to rabid dogs. What's next...muzzles for children?

This society--all zoned out on anti-depressants, anti-anxieties and other drugs--has been taught that emotions are bad, and that we must all be emotional flat liners--or else you're a depressive, maladjusted social misfit who cannot function in the world.

I'm so sick of this!

WE're not cyborgs!! We're human beings and we're supposed to feel.

[Megahurtz]

72. SICK!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!:crazy:

[David Zephyr]

73. Honor thy mother and father? Hardly. It does take a village.

Here's a classic example where the village saves children from parental abuse.

Andrea Yates' children would be alive today if they had not been subjected to "home schooling".

[CoffeeCat]

75. I am so sick of child abusers using BS to justify child abuse!

This most sickening element of this story is that ANYONE would believe that CAGES are therapeutic to a child.

CAGES!!!

The bottom line is that these people are sadists. They are controlling sociopaths and they enjoy seeing children suffer. I'd bet you anything that these children experienced a life of living hell with these ingrates.

These people are child abusers. Let's stop believing people who give medical excuses for their sadistic, sick behavior, "Oh gee, I thought that penning up a child like an animal was good for them." BULLSHIT!! You get off on controlling and torturing.

A caring, loving parent does not construct zoo-like cages for human beings. A parent who is attempting to understand and help their child deal with a disability does not do so by locking them in a 3-food pen!

Fuck these people!! This makes me so angry that anyone would believe these parents had the best of intentions! NO WAY!!!

These pieces of trash should be locked up and NEVER allowed to go near children AGAIN.

What an abomination. I hope to God NO ONE in our society accepts their pathetic excuses and sickening lies!

[superconnected]

78. This is freaking wierd.

I can't believe anyone who knew about it outside the family WOULDN'T call the cops.

They must have hid it. The "thearpy" thing is b.s.

[samplegirl]

79. They were home-schoolers

Enough said.

[KamaAina]

82. They will never put a cage around this DUer with autism

Imagine the outrage if these had been kids without disabilities, for instance, the children of migrant farm workers, kept in these conditions.

But for us? A story twenty minutes into the evening news. It's almost as though society expects us to live in cages. :grr: :banghead: :nuke:

[NYC]

84. Is this an Ohio technique?

...In March, a couple who had recently moved from Ohio to Florida was charged with neglect when their adopted teenager was discovered malnourished in a crib-like cage. The then-17-year-old weighed 49 pounds, investigators said.

The twin-bed-sized crib had been prescribed when the boy was much younger and lived in Ohio. It had been fitted with a lid, chains and a padlock, investigators said...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/12/national/a181932D40.DTL