 Posted Monday, October 12, 2009 11:43 AM
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I'm not a member of CS but work in a school where a family practicing CS resides. I know very little about CS- just that spiritual repair generally trumps medical repair.
One of the children in the family is may likely need therapy from a lisenced psychologist. This child may also need to be tested for autism so that we can put into place a supportive school program that is successful for the child. We want to respect this family's values and at the same time help this child have a successful school experience.
Can someone set me straight as to what's permitted for counseling and what's not? Also since autism is considered a medical diagnosis, what it any are the parameters for testing?
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Posted Monday, October 12, 2009 5:23 PM
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| I knew one autistic CS boy but I don't know if he was ever tested (it's just clear that he was autistic). My guess is that many CS families would be reluctant to have a child tested since to do so would "give the problem reality" and, therefore, make the "belief" in autism more difficult to heal. Christian Scientists tend to downplay their problems since they believe that talking about them is detrimental to healing. For this reason, a lot of them suffer needlessly with issues that could be easily solved or at least managed. With that said, I suspect that some CS families would be open to testing. I suggest voicing your concern to the family and asking them if they would be willing to have the child tested.
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Posted Monday, October 12, 2009 8:45 PM
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skinybiker (10/12/2009)
.....I know very little about CS- just that spiritual repair generally trumps medical repair.
skinybiker, I agree that Spiritual Healing --the kind that comes from God, -the real Christly touch is superior to anything man can do with medicine, but I haven't seen that kind of healing power in Christian Science. Moreover, who says (other than Christian Scientists) that you can't have both? Prayer And Medicine are an awesome combination. Linda gave you some excellent and very accurate advice, but you have to remember that most of us who post on this site are former Christian Scientists, --we are not CS anymore... That said, you might want to ask the same question of some practicing Christian Scientists. The CS Church maintains a web site with a discussion forum similar to this one. I think the answer would be similar there too, except for the part about 'needless suffering' which most CS adherents would tend to deny as unreal.
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Posted Tuesday, October 13, 2009 7:25 AM
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| I would suggest that you give the CS family the facts of your findings and testings. It's up to them to accept or reject your conclusions. I know non-CS families who have through dietary changes alone seen their children free of autistic symptoms.
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Posted Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:14 AM
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As a former CS person who went through testing with one of our children while still in CS, I can share what was helpful for us.
We used the analogy that when your car needs an oil change, you take it to a mechanic who knows what they are doing. We were open to testing after much soul searching, but did some research on our own and had a learning consultant conduct the evaluation. We made it clear that we didn't want a diagnosis, we just wanted to know how to help our child. Most insurance companies cover all or part of the cost of evaluations.
Perhaps you could take the same approach with these parents. Acknowledge they have their own way of dealing with issues, and suggest to them that you are looking for practical ways you can help at school, so that your partnership will work as well as possible and keep school a positive experience for the child. Our child was so frustrated that a lot of the behavior problems quieted down as soon as they got the support they needed from the school.
It's never easy talking with parents when there is an issue with their child. CS parents are working to deny the reality of any negative belief or label about their kids which makes working with them even more difficult. These parents have to know that there is something going on with their child, so a conversation with them shouldn't come as too much of a surprise for them. You'll just need to be very diplomatic in your approach. 
Hope that helps a little bit.
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Posted Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:26 AM
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| Thank you very much to everyone who replied. You are helping me shape my thinking and approach when talking with the parents!!! Yup, diplomacy and respect is key.
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Posted Wednesday, October 14, 2009 11:11 AM
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Also, some years ago the issue came up with insulin treatments for diabetic children. In fact, the Committee on Publication published a statement that it is appropriate to administer life-saving treatment such as insulin until the healing can be completed.
I found this actually in a book written by two librarians/travel writers when one was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in middle age, and they began writing books about caring for diabetes. They ran across the issue of CS, and wrote to The Mother Church for guidance, and received that reply from the Committee on Publication. I quoted it to my ex-husband when he was questioning whether he should remain under medical care for his liver disease when he was trying to heal it in CS. I pointed out that the treatment was keeping him alive while he worked prayerfully for healing, and that was okay, if insulin was okay for diabetics and morphine was okay for Mrs. Eddy.
I guess it worked, because he was willing to have a liver transplant, though in the end it didn't work out, at least he was going for it.
Ann
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Posted Monday, November 16, 2009 6:45 PM
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What a wonderful note and how caring you are. I am a life long CS and my child also has a learning disability. I worked hard within CS to find a spiritual sense of my child and seeking healing. Unfortunately I was not able to find the "healing" I needed as my child grew. Like any illness that does not yield, CS has NO prohibition is seeking alternative help. In fact it is horrible to deny a child the help he or she needs. The challenge is that a child grows opportunities pass them by in terms of treatment. I liken this to my child needing braces or even a wheelchair, I would not deny them that help if it was needed. All the while I still can work within CS to help me see them as I know they are. Feel free to share this with them, my child grew greatly from good treatment, albeit a bit later than I should have started and he could have benefited from early attention.
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