The job continues to be sad. I had hoped that working with children again would be fun...They are so cute and innocent. They are that, but many have been through so much, it is a wonder they still are alive....The human survival instinct, I guess. One of my responsibilities, as the big boss, is to sit in a large staffing with the children who should be released....To go home or to treatment. This week, I sat with three sex offenders. They can not go to where other children are, due to their predatory nature, but will continue in treatment somewhere. They will have to register as sex offenders wherever they go. One of the kids had been a feral child. He had been locked in a room with the dog and had to eat off the floor. He had no social nor speaking skills, and had modeled the dog's behaviors. He is Developmentally Disabled still. CPS took him away at age 2, and severed parental rights. He was then bounced from one foster home to another, being abused many times. He will NEVER be OK............ Several weeks ago, we were waiting for the family of a child to arrive, so had some time to talk about our youth, in general. The School Psychologist had worked in a home for Autistic Children in another state, for 20 years. I asked her why she felt there was such a sharp increase in Autistic children from 20 years ago. She said that Autism is a "buzz word", much like ADHD was 30 years ago. She blamed today's parents, and was very outspoken and passionate about it. She said that today's parents are lazy and want to milk the government. She said that parents do not talk to their children, nor hold them, nor socialize them, and just turn on the TV. The TV blares day and night. The children are bombarded with stimulation they cannot handle and go into their own worlds. She said that she felt that the TV "radio" waves do something neurologically to the children's brains, when their little minds are developing and SO vulnerable. The parents are at fault. And the welfare system is also at fault, by coming in and assuming the parent's responsibility. She continued by saying that a person diagnosed with Autism will always be autistic and their diagnosis never changes. If the child loses the diagnosis, then they were never Autistic to begin with, which proves what she said in the beginning that it's the parents fault. As I said, she was very outspoken about what she said. The School Counselor, who had been in Special Ed for 20 years, did not completely agree with the School Psychologist, and partially blamed the violence on TV. I can't agree with either one, though their points are well taken. And I don't have the facts that I still need, nor are all the "facts" available yet, to make any decision about this issue. And I can't judge. I hope that our youth will end up OK. Some do, some don't. It seems that the more vulnerable ones go out into the real world, and continue to be victimized. Some end up doing gang stuff and end up dead. That is the reality.