autistic friend being abused by parents

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MagicMeerkat
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05 Mar 2018, 5:35 pm

I have a friend who has been abused by his family all his life. The father is a minister or something and in a very high position in a very rural town. When he was eleven years old, the father physically beat him. The mother isn't exactly mother of the year either. She's always berating him for things related to his autism and in most cases, a human being.

He's eighteen but wants to finish high school before leaving home. The father is friends with the local police and even threatens to punish my friend if he brings up the abuse. My friend recently told me he was never taught how to dial 911 as a kid. He says he's going to run away once he graduates but he will be on his own. Is it possible to set up a Patron or to help him find an apartment or something until he can find a job? He can't look for a job on his own because the parents have filters on all of his devices. He's eighteen but they don't trust him....and personally, I think they're just worried about saving themselves from him reporting them.

The parents refuse to let him get a job. As for extended family, no. He lives on a mountain in a very rural part of Tennessee, the parents never let him learn how to drive so there would be no way for him to get to the said job. It's also possible they would just abuse him more if he were to get one anyway. He's been sheltered and abused all his life. The father threatens to beat him "like a redheaded stepchild" practically every day. It's a very small town in rural Tennessee and the father is a minister of a very small, tight-knit Bible belt town and basically rules the place.


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NobodyKnows
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05 Mar 2018, 7:51 pm

I was going to send you a PM, but you have that disabled...

I had a friend die in a similar situation in late 2016 and would be happy to help. Does he need a lawyer?



MagicMeerkat
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06 Mar 2018, 7:09 am

NobodyKnows wrote:
I was going to send you a PM, but you have that disabled...

I had a friend die in a similar situation in late 2016 and would be happy to help. Does he need a lawyer?


YES! He doesn't know how to go about obtaining one and the parents track his online movements, probably so he doesn't go about looking for one. But everyone in that town is on the father's side.


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AspieSingleDad
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06 Mar 2018, 8:08 am

My goodness! I wish I had advice, but I'm posting just to say I really feel for this guy! A lawyer who could be his advocate would be awesome....



NobodyKnows
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06 Mar 2018, 9:09 am

MagicMeerkat, can you send me a PM?

(I would be willing to help with housing issues as well.)



Benjamin the Donkey
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06 Mar 2018, 9:54 am

Preferably a lawyer from another town, who's not subject to influence by the kid's family.

Alternatively, he just skips out one school day and escapes the town. He's 18, so his parents can't legally force him to go back. But then he'd need some financial and maybe other support to get on his feet.

I really feel angry for him. If I'd been that geographically isolated, my family would have probably tried to do the same to me.


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MagicMeerkat
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06 Mar 2018, 10:51 am

NobodyKnows wrote:
MagicMeerkat, can you send me a PM?

(I would be willing to help with housing issues as well.)


I don't know how to set up PM's. I've been trying to send you one but WP won't let me. My e-mail is [email protected]

Benjamin the Donkey wrote:
Preferably a lawyer from another town, who's not subject to influence by the kid's family.

Alternatively, he just skips out one school day and escapes the town. He's 18, so his parents can't legally force him to go back. But then he'd need some financial and maybe other support to get on his feet.

I really feel angry for him. If I'd been that geographically isolated, my family would have probably tried to do the same to me.


I'm worried that the parents may have guardianship or something and just aren't telling him. My parents basically did the same thing to me, isolate me in a rural area, refuse to let me learn to drive at 16 and just give up on me. I'm STILL pissed about it.


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blueblood
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06 Mar 2018, 11:02 am

if only someone else "ruled" the town then he might have a legal way to get out but until then he might need a new start somewhere else with help from a friend.


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green0star
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06 Mar 2018, 6:05 pm

I can't tell if they sheltered him because of his autism or they sheltered him because they are beating him o-o That's pretty terrible though ...



MagicMeerkat
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06 Mar 2018, 6:12 pm

green0star wrote:
I can't tell if they sheltered him because of his autism or they sheltered him because they are beating him o-o That's pretty terrible though ...


I honestly think it's due to both. They probably use the autism as an excuse and a cover.


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