Crib

i hate seeing these types of beds, i think its just the idea that many a child lied there awake crying for someone that never came.

And when they were no longer children they where transfered somewhere probably no better where they were ignored and forgotten for the rest of their life.

i have a seventeen year old son that is autistic, he will always be with me. never never could i put him in a place like this, never.

That light gives it a menacing presence!

I can't imagine any parent putting their child in a place like this no matter what mental disabillities or handicaps they have.I mean if I were like that I would rather be simply put out of my misery than have to live in a place like that!

this is one of the saddest pictures I've seen here...the bars are no more,no less than prison bars..:(
Poor kids,I can't stand looking at it.

Incredibly sad.
If this is an actual baby crib, it possibly was for a child born here ( think about it)...the childs' future being dependant on the relatives or adoption services. So these babies might not have had a horrible future....
(I don't think a baby was placed in hospitals that young?)

Yes, infants as young as several days old were placed in institutional facilities back in the days when families were told it was best for them never to see their child. I work with a number of folks who were placed in an institution at under 6 months of age, and several who were less than a month of age at the time of placement. In fact, many places used to have entire buildings of nothing but children and infants even as recently as the 1970s.

Luckily, that does not happen anymore because the states are more responsible about helping families of children with multiple needs stay at home now. That is a VERY recent change in the field and is still a problem in many places with very long waiting lists for families to receive services. For years families were told they would not receive any funding or assistance for their children unless they gave up their rights to them and had them placed, and to keep a child at home with multiple physical disabilities is not only expensive but it is very draining, because you have to have someone right there 24/7. Most institutions now try not to take anyone under 21 if at all possible, and in many states a person cannot be admitted until they are 21+.

I still talk with families who are wracked with guilt years later for having been pressured into placing their child at such a young age. However, I also talk with families who are thrilled that their loved ones were placed in an institutional setting, and are happy with their care, and who would have it no other way. It obviously depends on the era in which you were raised, what resources were available when your loved one was young, and how the institutional experience has been for you and your family. Every time an institution is scheduled to shut, even if there have been horrible abuses documented, the families have generally been the strongest supporters of the institution, either because their specific loved one received excellent care there or because they have seen that similar horrors can also happen in the community.

One thing to say about institutions, especially these days - on every shift every day each client gets a good going over from head to toe by the oncoming shift, and any scratches, bruises, or tiny dings are immediately reported and investigated. This means that at least three times a day each person is looked at and assessed physically, often by multiple staff. It is very difficult these days for abuse to slide by without being reported and/or investigated, because anyone who knows that an injury occurred (whether through abuse or not) and didn't report it can be terminated for neglect. And there are people whose entire job is to analyze the pattern of injuries that occur and investigate any irregularities. As well, there are numerous external agencies who monitor the reports and there are advocates who go through the areas and read all the medical reports every day.

As much as I prefer the overall freedom of community living, I have to admit that they do not have this degree of oversight out there and unless there is a very involved case manager, family, or agency, much can occur that no one knows about because they don't have the same number of eyes looking things over.

As I have said repeatedly, as much as I adore working with this specific population, it can be a very challenging and frustrating group to work with, and since they cannot report if someone hurts them, you have to take an awful lot on faith, much more than I would personally like to take. :-(

Thank you for the information. I had no idea children could be placed so young....

In 1989 my oldest daughter was born with cerebral palsy, deafness and a corpus collusum (part of the brain) which never formed. When she was one week old a doctor approached me about institutionalizing her. I was told she may never even recognize me anyway. Well, I didn't and she does recognize me. In fact she seems to never forget anybody. She is outgoing and loves life. When I see these pictures it makes me so glad I kept her with me. I know places have improved but there is nothing like a mother who loves you and wants to take care of you.

Amanda's Mom: Thank goodness for a mothers' instinct. You are a brave one and I feel for you.

i too have an autisitc daughter, Anna--shes 12 now. This really does touch a strong chord with me--this place reeks of isolation, neglect, loneliness and pain...i cant help but think that children such as mine were once readily stuck in places such as this...i couldnt imagine my baby in this place for one minutes, much less for years on end....God, these pictures evoke an overwhelming sense of depression and pain for me.....im glad that place is closed.....i'm betting if your there on a cold, dark evening you can still hear the children crying out for help......i can hear them in these pictures....it is so sad.

Lynne-Where I worked some children came in at age 8. We attempted to prepare them to live in group housing or shared apartments by age 21. Sadly only a little over half were ever able to acheive that goal.

To expect a parent or parents to take physical abuse, watch him 24.7 without a break etc is not always possible. What can be possible to to find a placement where the child will be treated correctly, ethically and with love.

Places that do not take care of the needs of a child are never ever okay and simply put more guilt on the parents who have to make the hardest decision of their own lives.

BTW, I worked there in the 80s and early 90's.

StareGirl,

Interesting stuff! I wish people could see this through your eyes as well.

Lynne-FYI, if I ever go crazy you better be my personal nurse!! I promise not to through bodily fluids at you...
too often.
=)

that is sad that parents dumped their kids in places like this just cuz they didn't understand what their child had

Amanda,

Parents didn't "dump" their children in state facilities because they didn't understand what they had. There was a lot of cultural push at the time and no community supports available for parents who had children at home with challenging needs. The parents who placed their children in facilities such as this did it because they believed at the time it was the best thing to do for their child. Most of them felt guilty already, even though they were told it was the "right" thing to do. I have a lot of empathy for these families because of the position they were put in.

I agree with Lynn. Here in the uk it was not uncommon for doctors to tell parents that their physically impaired/deformed child had died at birth. Parents left the hospital grieving for a loss that hadn't occurred, many of the children were placed in "asylums" but in some cases they were drowned.
In other cases babies and children were physically dragged from their parents and removed from their care all due to the fact that physically or psychologically they did not conform to society's view of normal children.
In a majority of the cases it was under medical advice that children were admitted to these places, although there were parents who were willing to "rid themselves of such a burden".
Its such a sad thing. I knew i loved both my babies before i met them, i know that i could never turn their care over to anyone else.

sianaby, as a fellow uk resident i'd be interested to hear your sources for the died at birth/asylum/drowning thing. not something i've heard of..

[late Friday afternoon sigh] me, too, surly girl -- WTF?

The most important thing to me in this world is that my two little girls have a smile on their faces.Who needs money and fast cars?My girls come first and always will. Jason in England.

I'm enlightened, after reading all this important information, that helps me understand somewhat better. But hearing Sianaby's comment, I just sat here shaking my head; not from the end comment; but the beginning. I have 4 children and I just have to thank God they're all healthy and never had any really major medical problems!

There was a book written by a woman who lived in a village on the outskirts of northampton, close to the buckinghamshire border. I forget her name but she wrote an interesting account of secrets kept by her family, particularly her great grandmother. She drowned her twins at birth for fear of problems and disability as well as the fact that she was not entirely well after the birth. I'm gonna rack my brains for the author! There was a documentary on nearly a year ago about mothers who had had their children forcibly removed from their care at birth, for various reasons. My nan has also told me stories concerning babies and children that were removed from their parents at birth or infancy. You seemed to have misunderstood my earlier statement, I was in no sense implying that snatching and drowning happened on a regular basis but it DID happen in extreme cases. The stigma attached to having a baby with a deformity or disability used to be so great that families did put their children in the care of mental facilities. Sometimes it was for the best. I know of a lady who kept her down syndrome son against the advice of doctors. She wrapped that child in cotton wool and he was never able to do anything on his own. He was a quiet withdrawn boy, polite but non-conversational. When his mother died his father placed him in an institution (for want of a better word). He thrived there, learning new social skills and gaining some much needed independence. A few months ago my nan saw him walking alone late at night. Worried she rang the people who cared for him and they assurred her that he had enough common sense to come home when he was ready and that he would be fine. The next day she spoke to him on the phone and he chatted for over an hour about his new "family" and all the new things he had learned.
Apologies for any offence caused by the earlier comment, looking back it does sound ignorant but that was not my intention.

nasty to think in third world countries disabled children are still strapped in these and not allowed out of them

I gave birth to my son in 1994, and because of the extensive brain damage he had, they told me I should put him in an institution, for he never would be normal, he would always be a vegetable. I could not do this to my own flesh and blood, i could not even fathom him not being in my home. He, with lots of therapies, and love, is nowhere near a vegetable. He walks, talks, and rides a two wheel bike. So much for being a vegetable. I love my children very much and would never give up on them. He has beaten all the odds, and now wants to become a doctor and help the children who are like him. He still has some troubles, but we beleive he can overcome any obsticle that tries to block him.

Go to any normal hospital and you will find a cot with bars like this. It's normal.

"The most important thing to me in this world is that my two little girls have a smile on their faces" - Jason I agree with you 110%, I feel the same about my 2 girls.

The right equipment and place used in the wrong way. It seems lots of unnecessary time and overtime was spent here by children whose parents were deceived into letting them stay. Like Firstaid says, children can overcome these obstacles early. They need a little proper help, and they can do everything else by themselves. It's sad that at times society was unforgiving and had ignorant conformist rules, with very little medical knowledge about many conditions.

In 1997 when my mother died, I learned of a sister that I had, she was born with downs....she would have been born in the late 1940's. My mother never told me of the downs...I know now it was someone no one spoke of back then. How terribly painful to hold these secrets in your heart. I guess I am rambling but....feels good to put it to words.

Okay this is for Lynne, (our in house expert) Were children with Downs Syndrome placed in facilities like this?

You would think perhaps a third- world country could use a crib like that.. Clean it up, and find some one to ship it ( perhaps for free)

Society at the time urged families who had children with disabilities of any sort to place them in facilities such as this for life where they would be "better taken care of" and "less of a burden to their families." Children with easily identifiable syndromes, such as Down syndrome, were sometimes sent to residential facilities when they were infants.

Today there is much better access to funding for in-home services, but there are certain catches to the funding in some states and sometimes the funding decreases or disappears when the person "ages out of the program" at age 22. It's something this society still hasn't decided definitively how to deal with and a very sore spot for people with disabilities and their families.

We don't use cribs like this any more because they are potentially hazardous - it's too easy to catch an arm, leg, or a head in the bars. Current beds are supposed to be built with safety in mind and have to go through all sorts of rigorous standards and testing. Where I currently work every bed on campus has to be checked multiple times each month by various staff (program administrator, safety representative, program director, housekeeping, quality assurance, AND buildings & grounds staff) and documentation provided that this occurred.

Kids with Downs Syndrome are the most LOVABLE people you will ever enocounter, I am sure that they were a bright part of the staffs day. I used to pick up a child from school who had DS, and I opened my arms up and he sprinted into them. He really made my day at times.
My co-worker and I were out with the kids one day on the field behind the ymca and I looked up and shouted "my gods we have to go in now!!" There was a tornato! Well 25 kids ran towards the gym and I yell "Chris" (The 7 year old with DS) Well, ol "Chris" was ahead of the pack by far! He was the first to the Gym!!

I remember being in a crib like this when I was at St. Vincent Hospital (Worcester MA) for eye surgery. I was about 3or 4 years old. I can remember there were four cribs in the room I was in and there was a kid about the same age as me. I guess they were not only used for infants.

yeah and if you became unruly, they would put a lid on it...fine by me , I just swung on the top bars

This is one of the most sad and depessing places i have ever seen.

what a terrible thing for little children to once have been in a place and situation such as this. children were supposed to be out playing in fields and playgrounds, not locked away in decrepid hospital wards. it makes you shudder doesnt it?

> Thursday, 01-25-2007
By: Elke
Go to any normal hospital and you will find a cot with bars like this. It's normal. <

This. These cots are extremely common and are standard issue. My 2.5 year old has been in them many times when hospitalized for asthma issues

That looks like the crib i used to sleep in as a baby.

this is a sad!!!!! i could cry!!!!
imagine the babies that did lay in this crib everyday that were mistreated/neglected so sad to know that a baby so small can be in there and how do they know the child has mental problems that early when they barely know how to suck on a nipple!!!!

I used to work in a hospital that did day programs with adult s with down syndrome and I agree with the above comment that they are the most friendly and loveably people. They're not unhappy people by any means and most of them were in a group home setting and needed that "institutional setting" to function at their best. Taking them out of their group homes would have been the worst thing for them.

I was born with disabilities, and my parents I think were given the option of instituting me. They were also told that I would not live past a year. Please note that this was the early 1980s, and there were some institutions open. Of course, my parents refused to give me up, and obvioulsy I surpassed the one year mark.

So, I was in that type of bed for quite some time in hospitals getting surgeries and what not.

@blackrose-Your parents made the right decision to keep you-God Bless them! I'm glad you survived and hope you're doing well. : )

My mother was institutized when she was pregnant with me, and I was raised it a institution till the age of 10. When my father had came a took me out since I was only there because my mother was. But I was put in a crib much like this one, and I don't think I would ever forget it.
This was also the 1970's if anyone was wondering.

awwwww!! This makes me cry so much!! *sniffle, sob, cough, blubbering like a baby*

This makes me cringe...i think of the torturous happenings at Pennhurst :(

Its haunting isnt it?