[JeanLynn81]

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/watercoole...?storyid=87389

I know that there has got to be a lot more to this story than what is mentioned.

At my church, we have a trouble maker. He is a 6'3", 270+ lbs. guy in his 40's, that has the mind of an 8 year old. But a member of the church that can stand up to him has taken it upon himself to befriend him, and when he sees the first sign of trouble, he takes him in another room and calms him down. Its amazing what a difference a mentor can make in cases like these.

The latest trouble he made was during the Easter egg hunt. He cried because he couldn't understand why he couldn't participate, then when he was allowed to hunt, he knocked a child over to get to an egg first. Off he went with his buddy.

His mom is elderly and can't help much with him anymore. The church members pulled together and work as a team to help her out. That's just what church does. Its a place to go where our differences are put aside and we all share one common bond-our love for God. God would NEVER kick someone out of His House because they were different.

So, I think the church mentioned in the news article could learn a few things about acceptance. What do you think?

[mcmama]

I don't know, the behavior seems a bit excessive.

But if the church had been helping this family all along, perhaps some solutions could have been reached before this point. I've seen situations like this in churches, but the parish family is working on it from day one, not waiting until size and puberty make it a problem.

[mrmnmom82]

In our church building you can turn on the speaker in a different room and hear the lesson. I would think just going to another room with more privacy,and more room for him to move around as he pleased would be a better alternative than to getting a restraining order! That seems way overboard.

[Magic_Mikki]

Hm. I don't know what to think about this issue. I would agree that the story is leaving out a lot of details. I hate to say it, but I know I would be incredibly annoyed to have to sit near his family in church, but then again, being an annoyance is no reason to kick them out. However, they did get a restraining order granted, so that tells us that something else is going on that affects others' safety.

[Samual]

Is it not extremely illegal to apply for a restraining order on someone on grounds that they are disabled? I'm sorry but the fact that the order was thought of nevermined granted was absolutely disgusting.

[mrmnmom82]

They were discussing this on The View and said that he would pull people into his lap and things like that. That might be what allowed the restraining order to take place. But I also feel there needs to be a bit more understanding toward the family, they don't just deal with this on sundays, it's 24/7 for them. The church needs to show a little compasion.

[Labhaoise]

mmm, I too think that there was a fair bit of information left out of that article. However, it does not reflect well upon the particular church. A couple at my church have a severly autistic granddaughter who comes to visit a bit. but she is about five and can still go to Sunday School with her sister. So I cannot really relate to the people in the church. But they really do come accross as the bad guys. It will be interesting to see how this plays out

[Tracey with 6]

this type of thing is oddly enough one of the reasons I stopped going to church , I have 1 son with ADHD and another who plays off him, and the dirty looks and comments from others at church got to the point I wont return.