http://torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/A
rticle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1015282985861&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=9
68332188492&call_pagepath=News/News
Deaf mother `not coping well,' saysCAS
Allegation denied by woman who had her newborn taken away
Nicholas Keung
STAFF REPORTER
A deaf mother had her newborn baby taken away because she is "quick
tempered and would flare up easily," according to documents filed in
Newmarket family court yesterday.
Michelle (not her real name) "appears to be unable to manage the
day-to-day responsibilities and the care of the baby," said Children's
Aid Society senior counsel Anthony Snider in a court application to
justify the agency's decision to remove the infant from the 27-year-old
single mother.
"(She) is not coping well with the recent birth of her baby."
Snider wrote that CAS workers were acting on a complaint by Michelle's
landlady last Wednesday, alleging the young mother stormed out of the
apartment they shared following an argument over "the state of
(Michelle's) room."
The landlady also complained that Michelle neglected her son's cries.
Michelle denies the allegations.
"It's all because I am deaf and considered an incompetent mother," she
said.
Michelle needed to obtain different devices to alert her when the baby
was crying or in distress, including one that shook the bed rapidly when
the child cried. She also had a device that caused the lights to flicker
when the baby made a noise.
But the landlady told the CAS that Michelle often would turn off the
monitors.
Michelle said she had the monitor turned off at the request of the
landlady, who complained the noise of the mattress moving kept waking
her.
In a statement of facts, CAS said Michelle contacted the agency in
January for help with her unborn baby because she was deaf and it was
her first child. Numerous community agencies became involved in the
child's care since his birth on Feb. 12.
Last week, a team of four York Region police and CAS workers showed up
at the Concord house of Michelle's deaf friends, where the mother and
son were visiting, and took the baby boy away. No sign language
interpreter was present.
Court documents also showed that, the day before the complaint was
filed, a CAS high-risk infant nurse indicated Michelle "was very
negative about everything, stating she was unable to do anything because
of the baby, including the laundry or going shopping.
"Given the concerns regarding (Michelle's) inability to cope with her
newborn baby, her placing her own needs above those of the baby, reports
of her quick temper and frustration with the baby ... a period of
wardship is required to ensure (the baby's) safety," CAS noted in its
court application.
Michelle said she was still coping with the pain after birth and was not
able to do the laundry as diligently as she should have.
Beth McAdam, a counsellor with Silent Voices who has been assisting
Michelle, said in an interview she is convinced her client is a
responsible parent who asked for all possible resources to ensure all
the baby's needs are met.
"If the mother was negligent and the boy was abused, I would definitely
have made a report to the CAS," said McAdam.
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
