I am a psychiatrist and my daughter Talia attends the Elija School for Autism. The NYC Department of Education (DOE) never offered me a placement for this year and New York State will not approve her school, which means I had to pay tuition and have to sue for reimbursement in order for her to attend a school. After the NYC DOE in July agreed to settlement, less than three weeks ago they changed their mind.
Two weeks ago schools closed. While neurotypical students can have remote learning, the DOE took away all speech, physical and occupational therapy from some children with disabilities including mine, even though these were on Talia’s IEP. When NY went on lockdown a week ago, these services are only considered essential when funded by a health insurance company, not a school district, even though the services are the same and doctors have to write prescriptions for these services in order for school districts to authorize them. Of course, according to the governor’s order alcohol is “essential.”
Furthermore, while Talia’s school is closed, I have to provide 25 hours of instruction a week with school support or I will never get reimbursement for her tuition. Talia cannot attend well to a screen, so I am providing the therapy or I will be out huge sums of money. Unlike the school, I am alone with Talia, so when she attacked me last week while I was following the school directed curriculum, I had to lock myself in the bathroom in fear. While I was in the bathroom, Talia kept hitting herself in the head, and as doctors have informed me, her force is enough to fracture teeth or cause a traumatic brain injury. She already broke her frenulum.
I have tried to work as a psychiatrist remotely. Last week, while evaluating a patient, Talia bit me (picture on my facebook dontmedicateeducate page). While her teeth were in me, I cursed, first time I ever did on the job. I was very embarrassed, and in a role reversal, the patient asked me if I was okay. Needless to say, I am only working one and a half days a week now while my mother has sold more retirement money to help us get through this. I am currently out two years of Elija school tuition.
One reason why FDA approval for a Corona virus testing device was delayed, was because the FDA Office of Device Evaluation was spending some of its resources on a final rule making to stop the two second skin shock used at my brother’s school, the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, only for self-injury and aggression. It can still be used for smoking and other uses, which is the FDA practicing medicine without seeing patients. I have tried the device myself and no one has ever died from it. The first case of Corona virus in the US was on January 20th, 2020. February 10th 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders along with colleagues wrote to the FDA to ban electrical stimulation devices specifically for self-injurious and aggressive behavior. March 4th the FDA formally banned the treatment for those uses and published a final rule. Now millions of innocent people may die, including individuals with disabilities, and some have already died due to the FDA’s Office of Device Evaluation’s decision to prioritize banning skin shock over using all of its resources to approve a testing device for Corona virus. Perhaps if the FDA had its priorities straight, children with disabilities would not be regressing without school, loved ones would not be lost, health care workers would not have to work without protective equipment, and jobless people would not be scared how they will pay their rent, eat and possibly pay hospital bills when they lose their health insurance. Dr. William Maisel, the chief medical officer and director of the Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA’s Center of Devices and Radiological Health has a long history of poor judgement, when in 2012 he pled guilty to being part of ten man prostitution ring after he solicited an undercover officer for sex. I guess his $200 fine did not improve his judgment.
The governor’s office and the NY Department of Health keep emailing health care workers, including myself, begging us to help. Yet, no one puts their money where their mouth is, offers me support for my child, while I am forced to practice as an unlicensed special education teacher, physical, occupational and speech therapist. Instead of using my training and skills to help save lives, this is I spend my day doing activities such as discrete trials. There is a video on my facebook dontmedicateeducate page.
PS: Governor Cuomo please send all further work requests by regular mail so at least I’ll have backup toilet paper.