Defending Rights of Disabled Kids

I am writing this letter on behalf of many concerned parents of the developmentally disabled in Orange County. The developmentally disabled do have rights. We as parents know that full well, but those rights have to be protected. The majority of our sons and daughters do not have the mentality nor the speech to voice their rights. No one believes their complaints of physical, mental or sexual abuse in their living environment.

So who does that leave to defend the rights of these innocent and lovable people? That’s right. The parents, if they have not thrown up their hands in despair, walked away from their children’s lives and left them to the whims of strangers.

But in Orange County there is one other large source of help for every single mentally retarded child or adult--Orange County Regional Center for Developmental Disabilities. Never has anyone been pushed aside, not listened to, or slighted by their capable staff.

Some of us have our children at home and some are living in care facilities, but we all have heard horror stories that exist in the state and private care homes. Many of these have been reported and brushed under the carpet as if they never happened.

The public may not be aware of the fact that there seems to be an unwritten and unspoken code of ethics among some of the workers that choose this line of employment and their co-workers follow suit. There are, however, a few that make up their own rules, and where better to vent their anger and frustration than on people that cannot defend themselves and know of nothing other than this life style.

Our sons and daughters are every bit as precious to us as our normal children or as your children are to you. It is frightening to think of what situations our children might be in if it were not for the awareness and responsibility the Orange County Regional Center so professionally offers them. In fact, what is desperately needed is funding to enable a more efficient monitoring system to fully protect our children.

SHIRLEY PIHA

Newport Beach