This is a much bigger problem, with homeschooling in general. Some homeschooling parents really take it seriously, and through a lot of hard work, do a good job of educating their kids. Some tell the state that they’re homeschooling, and then just don’t do anything. Some use homeschooling as a way to further abuse their children.
I’m not saying anything about the proportions, but the mere existence of the second and third categories means that there needs to be a significant amount of oversight. In actuality, there’s almost none.
not to side-track the thread: but when you opt for homeschooling, doesn’t the kid/student have to pass certain (yearly?) tests - to show they are ballpark in line with the study schedule?
Two prior threads on the subject including some anecdotes within the last 3 years (so I know about them) including the potential for educational abuse though no real mention IIRC of the sort of abuse in this thread
Lots of cites about how there are various “schools” on homeschooling, some impressive, some political, some apocalyptic. And how politics can further damage any guardrails ensuring a full education. Should give you an overview.
Back to this topic though, yeah, homeschooling does give you a big advantage in concealing abuse of family members - the news is full of reports from where a teacher, counselor, or even friends see things and report them. Not that (as in this case) the reports are anywhere near as successful as I’d like, but… Isolation is almost always a factor (I want to say always, but I try to avoid absolute) in long-term abuse.
Thanks for the homeschooling posts. I presumed those kids had to take tests and get visits every few months.
The Conn victim was in school from age 5 to 9 and his teachers say he was very small for his age and obvioulsy malnourished. However, he grew to 5’9" which is normal height. Surprising he got that tall being malnourished all his growth years.
It depends on a lot of things-- one is genetic potential. He had the potential to be at least 5’9, but had he been well-fed, he might have grown to be 6’1.
There’s also issues like blatant malnourishment vs. underfeeding. It’s possible he got just enough food to get all his nutritional needs taken care of, and was just short on calories. Sometimes in isolated populations, you see the opposite problem-- a diet high is fat and carbohydrates, but low or absent some nutrients. Usually low in iron and protein, and absent one or two micronutrients during some parts of the year.
Wish I could remember more details, but I read it back in high school. There was a previously isolated tribe that had just had contact with the west in the last 10 years or so (at the point-- around 1982). They had a seasonal plague that came through every year in the early spring, that they thought was connected to the weather somehow, and they tried to stay indoors. Turned out it was the exhaustion of a micronutrient in their diets.
Also I wonder how fast his doctors want him to gain weight. As fast as he can or would a slow but steady pace be better for his body? He was only 68 pounds when they found him. If he gains 5 pounds per month in 6 months he would weigh 98 pounds. That is still very low but a 44% increase in just 6 months is quite a lot. Would be like a 150 pound person going to 216.
Arraignment for stepmom was on 3/28 and she pleaded not guilty. Free on $300,000 bond posted by relatives. Has to wear GPS monitoring device. Victim wanted her in jail. Stepmom returns to court on 4/22.
From what I know of Concentration Camp survivors, they had to have real food re-introduced slowly to their diets, or it just made them sick, and they had to be re-hydrated before all else.
He’s probably going to be on IV fluids and dextrose, and have tests to see what his vitamin levels are, and what he needs, and he’ll have a diet designed around that.
He might feel ravenous, and they won’t withhold food from him, but might feel him lots of things like Ensure, and protein-enhanced rice pudding.
If he isn’t hungry, he might take appetite stimulants, and be given anything he asks for, with difficult-to-digest things given in small portions.
Processing his food without discomfort, and maintaining healthy blood-levels of nutrients will probably be primary considerations, and his rate of weight gain will be secondary, as long as he is gaining at all.
Thanks for the Times article. Has some info I had not read before. I was wondering how soon he could resume normal diet and it says overfeeding now could be fatal. Also, I have been wondering about his prognosis. Do they think he can recover to near normal health or does he have permanent damage? This says he has deformed knees and muscle wasting but I wonder if he has other problems like diabetes or kidney problems, weak bones, vision problems, etc.
“he will need extensive physical rehabilitation — court documents state he has deformed knees and muscle wasting — and a carefully managed diet to avoid re-feeding syndrome, where a sudden flood of nutrients can kill a person near starvation. He is also receiving mental health counseling”.
The victim made his first public statement on Tuesday. I am surprised how smart and aware of his situation he seems considering his extreme isolation and only having a 5th grade education. Maybe his lawyer helped him write it.
Most likely, he had a central IV line placed, and was put on TPN (total parenteral nutrition) where he got complete nutrition intravenously. At the very least, they hydrated him with a glucose/saline/vitamin solution until they started giving him light food. We did this all the time with elderly seniors with malnutrition, pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum, and even a surprising number of people with morbid obesity who presented with various non-calorie deficiencies.
Sierah Joughin story is another sad story. The stepmom’s trial started April 22. Hopefully, justice will be done. Conn DCF found some of his records so that is good.
I wonder about the victim’s vaccine history and immune system. I presume he had shots until age 9 when he was pulled from school, then no shots or doctor visits until now at age 32. Probably his family in the house had the flu and covid some years. He would be exposed when he was outside his room doing chores. So he probably had the flu a few times and maybe covid. But seems like malnutrition and weakness would give him weak immune system. He probably has gotten up to date on shots while recovering.
He is a medical and psycholigcal marvel to survive this.
I work with 4th graders in Hebrew school, and they can be quite introspective and articulate, especially for an adult audience when they want to be taken seriously. And this guy, whatever his privations, has an adult brain, and for all we know, was allowed to read books.