Luckly over the years he's found ways to communicate and I am no longer treated as a punch bag for which I am extremely grateful. Another thing I am grateful for is that my son never self-harmed. Many autistic individuals do, and I've just read an article about a seventeen-year-old autistic boy who was taken away from his loving parents and placed in a state-run mental institution because of it.

Of course no-one wants to see a child injured but clearly the Child Protection Services involved in the case have little understanding of autism and just made what was a bad situation even worse.

They may have been genuinely concerned about the child and disagreed with his parents' holistic treatment choices, but taking him away from his loving home, placing him with the criminally insane, and then putting him on dangerous drugs is going too far.

Such ignorance, even if originally well motivated, should not be allowed.

Read the article found in the Orange County Registry and dated February 17 2008 for yourself and see what you think.

"Nate Tseglin, a 17-year-old autistic boy, was removed from his home and placed in a state-run mental institution because Child Protective Services disagreed with his parents' treatment choices.

A teacher called CPS after seeing self-inflicted scratches on Nate's body and complained about the doctor-approved arm restraints used by Nate's parents to keep him from hurting himself. Soon the Tseglins found themselves at loggerheads with the government over Nate's proper treatment.

The parents are opposed to the use of psychotropic drugs and argue that Nate has had strong negative reactions to them. They have had success, however, with an alternative, holistic approach that focuses on diet and psychiatric counseling. CPS disagreed with the treatment and forcibly removed the boy from his home.

After he ran away from the group home where he was initially placed, the government transferred Nate to a mental hospital. The Tseglins say the drugs the hospital gave Nate caused him to have a grand mal seizure, and his health has continued to deteriorate.

When the Tseglins visited Nate over the summer, they found his face swollen, and he faded in and out of consciousness and suffered from convulsions.

The Tseglins claim Child Protective Services has told them they have the "wrong set of beliefs" and even threatened to force them to undergo a court-ordered psychological evaluation."

Reading stories like that makes me realise how lucky I am!