Responsibility & Accountability Milking the System by Blaming the Child & Blaming the Brain
I have noticed that there has been a drive to make profit from labels that exists not only at the level of pharmaceutical companies, but also from cash strapped school district and sadly, from disengaged parents themselves. School districts are able to obtain additional funds for each child labeled. These funds do not necessarily go towards the aid of individual students but can be utilized in various ways. Some parents (who are emotionally disconnected from their children) and who are undergoing financial distress jump on the idea of obtaining a diagnosis and label for their child in situations where the problem is one that is solely the result of psychosocial factors,in order to cash in on various taxpayer funded programs.
These parents are attempting to exonerate themselves from any sense of responsibility or accountability in addressing the emotional needs of their children themselves or seeking to make the necessary changes that would aid their child in being more motivated and functioning more successfully. The education system also fails to provide the appropriate means of adapting methods suitable to the child’s learning style or instilling a zeal for learning. Instead, they are perpetuating the problem of the child’s lack of motivation by teaching their child that it is not through hard work and diligence that achievement can be obtained but rather through manipulation and ‘milking’ the system for whatever they feel they are ‘entitled’ to. It is this sense of entitlement that leads to individuals believing that they can obtain something for nothing, and thus gives them no drive or motivation to achieve goals or to become more productive citizens. Zeal for learning and productivity will never come from handouts or by a stale, rote educational system.
How must a child feel to know that their parent has labeled them as being ‘brain disordered’ or suffering from a subjective ‘disorder’ only to obtain additional monies. It is well known that these funds do not go towards improving the functioning of the child but is often used as a ‘personal expense account’ for their parent and the child for various things that are completely unrelated to the supposed ‘disability’.
In addition to seeking funds through what in the common lingo is known as the ‘crazy check’, these individuals go further to obtain various therapeutic services with the sole intention of trying to justify their claim to these monies. They are often seeking services with which they do not provide any investment of their own. They have allowed the government or more appropriately said, the taxpayers to provide for their financial welfare and then allow ‘professionals’, once again paid for by taxpayers, to assume the responsibility of providing care to their child.
Some of these individuals will attempt to justify their ‘milking’ of the system by using the guise of advocacy. In the true sense of advocacy, they would be seeking to address the actual challenges that their child faces by providing structure, tutoring, hearing their child’s voice, resolving conflicts, and making changes to the distressing environment that would allow their children to be healthful and productive. It is easy to not put forth any effort in these areas, shirk responsibility, and lay claim that the government and professionals need to do their part, to be ‘accountable’, of course at someone else’s expense.
There is a dire need of reform of this unfortunate system. There should be no further rewards to parents who do not take responsibility and accountability. Children should not be given labels that can stick for life or be considered ‘disordered’ in order for funds to be obtained. When there exists a real physical or developmental challenge, that can be appropriately demonstrated through valid, objective tests, it would be understandable that there may be the need for assistance, but even here there needs to be carful checks and balances to insure that the funds are used to provide the appropriate resources to the child and that such funds are not pilfered.
Dan L. Edmunds is a doctoral candiate (abd) in Pastoral Community Counseling and has served as a therapist and consultant to children with autism and developmental challenges as well as children with emotional challenges.
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