Comments on: Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete on their son RJ's autism

By: Celeste

Celeste — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 04:45:00 +0000

Mr and Mrs Peete are doing a good job with their children and just basically educating the public about Autism. Rodney JR is a smart kid who only wants to be accepted for who he is and not his disability.

By: xenobia

xenobia — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:56:43 +0000

Everytime I hear about Holly R.Peete’s story,I feel heartbreak for my own 10yr.old son.we are African-Canadian.I was a successful singer for 20yrs but when I had my son, Iknew he would be my greatest accomplishment.however,I didnt bargain for the never-ending abuse by the system.I lost 4pregnancies and was elated to have a live birth.It was a very dangerous high risk pregnancy that would nearly cost me my life but i would do it again for my beloved son!I still remember the joy & disbelief at seeing him the 1st time.he began hitting his marks very early and seemed ‘far too intelligent’ for his age until he was about 3yrs old.my siblings began to notice small but significant things.then an uphill battle to keep him and get a firm diagnosis would ensue.I was determined to do this for him.I couldnt have known how high a price it would be.1st his father left us,then it seems the world turned against us.I cant believe we’re still here! we r still fighting but there is light at the end of the tunnel..we would suffer seemingly endless abuse from every part of the system-Dr’s,teachers,policemen,etc.we are now in a position to sue for damages and hopefully move foreward with our lives.we lost everythng we own and so much time being abused and held back,I just hope for the best.all I ever wanted was to feel free to love my son and do my music.he is just precious.God is good and I know He has great things in store for us!

By: carol Shikany

carol Shikany — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:13:51 +0000

I have a 20 year old with autism. I have been the head of a steering committee for 15 years. My daughter is now in a adult foster care. Some questionable things have happened and there is a guardian (that my ex-husband instigated through the coutrs.OMG, it has been hell with a guardian. Anyone out there, an attorney who wants to do probono and give me advice. I am starting to write a book about this

By: Christina

Christina — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:27:37 +0000

I am disgusted with the Poplar Bluff school system. Let me tell you a little bit about myself first. My name is Christina Crawford and I moved to the Poplar Bluff School district in 2009 from Naylor. I thought that it would help my youngest child who had recently been diagnosed with ADHD, PDD, OCD, and ODD he had and still has a lot of social and communication difficulties, since they were a bigger school and his Mental Health Doctor thought that they could offer him more. Every since I feel like the Poplar Bluff School system has worked against me. Brandon has behavior problems and anger issues but these are stemmed from his disorders. If Brandon is put into a smaller group these behaviors are less common. Brandon is under the care of Naveed Mirza, MD and he also sees Aaron Allen for his counseling needs.
Recently, Brandon has become more aggressive at school. He has hit, kicked, and pushed students. They complain when his medicine makes him too tired and they complain when his medicine does not make him “blend in”. There is no pleasing them. They have threatened to call in authorities to have him hospitalized. Which Dr. Mirza and myself agree this would only make the situation worse because of Brandons condition. He does not need hospitalization. I have tried to get him into O’Neil school which has a autistic classroom and a behavioral classroom. When requesting these services he was denied because his behaviors are not severe enough. Which I do not understand because his behaviors are severe enough to kick him out of school, kick him off the bus, swat him, take away his free time, call me everyday and call higher authorities to have him put away. He is too smart for the Autism room but if anyone knows what autism was they would know that autistic children are execptionally smart. I do what is right by Brandon he attends all of his counseling appointments and goes to all his other doctors appointments and more. Anytime the school has had a problem I took him to Dr. Mirza that day or the very next morning. I make sure that he takes the meds that are prescribed to him. I did what I was suppose to, why cant the school do what they are suppose to. I understand that he dont completely fit the descriptions of the other students in these classes but they should have had to accommodate to him. They could have put him in “special classes” but gave him the normal second grade work, in order for him to function to the best of his ability. I know that Brandon is probably only one case where people fall in the cracks because he is not able to function in the classroom because of his disorders and he cant get put in special classes because he is too smart. When I originally started this letter I wanted help getting special services for my son but after the threats and how degrading the school has made me feel I will not put my son back in Poplar Bluff Schools. I know that I am a great mother and I always put my children first. I just want to get my word out so maybe this does not happen to any other family. This has caused a ton physically and mental stress not only on me but also on Brandon, who deals with enough everyday already. Now this is causing financial stress because I have to home school him to make sure he is getting what he needs. What happen to No Child Left Behind?
Thank you for taking the time to listen to me.
Christina Crawford
I am willing to answer any questions if it will help you resolve this issue so other families do not endure this problem.

By: Arnette

Arnette — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:19:36 +0000

Holly: Thank you so much for sharing your story. It give me hope as I fight the same battle to win my son back from autism. I need to hear all the success I can about overcoming this elusive and mysterious disability. I recently read another inspirational article online about the son of former NFL player, Dan Marino, who has completely overcome all of his diagnosed autistic charactertics. In the article, Dan, his wife and former autistic son speak candidly about how they dealth with the autism. Here is the link if you’d like to read it. It’s an awesome story. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/5957706

By: Tomico

Tomico — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:39:56 +0000

Holly,

Thank you for sharing your story. There are times that I want to break down and cry because my 5 year old son has autism. I want to be able to have a conversation with him so I know he is feeling okay, in pain, sick or hungry. He has started to speak but he is only making sounds now. I am looking forward to him putting two words sentences together. I consistently greet every morning with a “Good Morning, how do you feel” and ” I love you”. And my feel over joyed when he smiles after I say “I love you” because I know he understands me when I say it.

Again, thank you for inspiring parents with hope.

Tomico

By: Melanie Harms

Melanie Harms — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:39:22 +0000

Holly and Rodney, such a touching story. I have recently become involved in the autistic world. I started dating a music therapist who specializes with autistic children. We have been together for a year and a half now. I have had a few opportunities to observe her with autistic children. It is absolutely amazing. She now is Professor of Music Therapy at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Good luck to you and your family and thank you for your story. I wish you the best of luck.

By: Tracy Finnley

Tracy Finnley — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:11:53 +0000

I can’t begin to put in to words the reassurance I have felt reading this article. I too have an autistic son, it’s near dam impossible for people to even begin to comprehend how your life changes when this vulnerable disabled person enters in to your life. All I can say is ‘Thank GOD’ for people like Rodney and Holly who speaks out, highlighting and raising awarness of this hidden disability, I call it ‘hidden’ because there are no visible signs that your child is any different, in fact, they like many other children can appear absolutely attractively gorgeous, just Rodneys and Hollys beautiful child! It can sometimes be apparent that something is different when you try to make eye cantact but it’s not always, although I known my son can have ‘the vacant look’ however it’s most noticable when my son who is 18 yrs old physcially move i.e. jumping, flicking, and all the other little and big things that are classified as ‘different’. Its particualrly noticable when he tries to speak as the majority of the time he gabbles incoherently although he can let you know if he is hungry, thirsty, tired, etc. He’s now a striking good looking young man of 6ft 3in, however when he jumps he’s like an extended pogo stick. People are not always so empathetic as those (above) who have written in response to this article thus those who don’t understand please don’t judge and try to understand; he didn’t chose autism,autism chose him and its something we(and thousands of others)live with as a family on a daily basis. We are now facing the prospects of my son losing his education placement as the LSC have decided to terminate it’s contract with out any legitimate reason (see the Guardian Tues 25th August 09). I knew before our the recent turn of events that I’ve learnt I have to be my sons voice as his rights would be non existence. If we parents didn’t fight for them or highlight them in the public eye when given the opprtunity what would theri quality of life be?, so thank you for your article and bringing your story for all to see, it’s reassuring to know we are not alone in dealing with the complexity of this hidden disablity. Reagards. T.F

By: teri

teri — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:35:27 +0000

Please visit The National Vaccine Information Center website. This center is co-founded by Barbara Loe Fisher whose son developed brain damage after a series of childhood immunizations. Unfortunately, there are many other VIDS (vaccine induced diseases) besides Autism and ADHD. Other vaccines we need to watch out for are the flu vaccines. Dr. Rebecca Carley has an excellent website with very important information on this subject. Our best defense is Knowledge.

By: Christy

Christy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:09:37 +0000

My question is did Ryan, RJ's twin receive the same vaccines as him at the same time. If so, this is interesting and they should look into this case especially.