'Slow' Parents are forced to have their children adopted

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" Zeus " <info

'Slow' Parents are forced to have their children adopted

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:06:55 +0100

 

 

 

(Apparently this heartbreaking situation is going on all over the

UK....Zeus)

 

DAILY MAIL (London)

August 10, 2005

ED_2ND_04; Pg. 22

 

 

 

'Slow' Parents are forced to have their children adopted

 

BY: STEVE DOUGHTY

 

 

A COUPLE regarded as too intellectually slow to be parents must give

up their two children for adoption, a High Court judge has ruled.

 

Mrs Justice Pauffley said they could not keep their four-year-old

daughter and 14-month-old son even though they have never harmed or

neglected them.

 

She agreed with social workers who claimed the children would be at

risk if they continued to live at home.

 

The judge rebuked the couple for their 'unreasonable' refusal to give

up the children and said their desire to raise them was 'wholly

unrealistic'.

 

The children were taken from the family home last year, even though

social workers admitted they were loved, clean, well-dressed and fed.

 

The case has caused an outcry with protests from charities, academics

and politicians.

 

There have also been protests over the secrecy of the family courts

and social workers at Essex council who attempted to silence

discussion and criticism of the case and the legal proceedings.

 

The couple, who cannot be named, will now lose all contact with their

children, who are currently with foster parents. They last had contact

in November.

 

They had challenged an earlier adoption order made by a judge in a

family court.

After the High Court judgment the 28-year-old mother, who often broke

down in tears during the three-day hearing, said: 'They made me out to

be completely stupid and they said I had no relationship with my

little girl.

 

'But we used to do lots of things together. She liked to play with my

hair and help me change the baby.

 

'I love her and her brother and nothing will help me get over this.

They have talked about counselling or me getting a job to take my mind

off things but I cannot carry on unless I get them back.' The couple

do not know if they will be allowed to say goodbye before the children

are adopted.

 

The mother said: 'I don't think it would be a good idea to see them

because it could upset my little girl because she might think we have

come to bring her home.' The couple have been told they will receive

photographs or a video of the children twice a year.

 

The 37-year-old father said: 'That is all we will have. A social

worker told us we could see them when they are 18. Everyone says we

have done nothing wrong but we are being punished. It is breaking our

hearts.'

 

The mother has an IQ of 60. She can read and write although has

difficulty in understanding ideas.

 

The father has been assessed as having no learning difficulty. He has

worked for the same firm for 22 years.

 

Social workers said their daughter had 'suffered significant emotional

harm' because of her mother's lack of responsiveness and the fact

neither parent could 'demonstrate an ability consistently to provide

stimulation'.

 

The judge said: 'They are decent people but they are not capable of

managing the intricate anticipatory process of parenting.'

 

s.doughty