Autistic Woman Beaten By Attendants in Group Home

As a human being the atrocities committed against a low functioning autistic woman by employees in a New York group home are sickening.

It is difficult to imagine that there are such disgusting excuses for human beings walking this planet and that they are able to find employment in a group home with vulnerable residents.

As a father of a low functioning autistic boy whose future will include some level of institutional care it is terrifying to read what these thugs did to this helpless woman.

This poor soul could not speak for herself. And the animals who savaged her knew it. Perhaps video cameras in all areas of institutions with non communicative residents should be mandatory. So that the videos can speak for them when they are subject to abuse.

Newsday, Auust 18, 2007

An autistic resident of a Long Island group home was beaten with a shoe and a wooden coat hanger, slapped in the head and kicked by several employees whose vicious assaults were captured by a hidden video camera, Nassau County police said.

The helpless 50-year-old victim was battered repeatedly at the PLUS Group Home Inc. by at least four employees after one of their co-workers alerted police to possible mistreatment of the residents inside the Uniondale facility, police said.

Group home management then installed the camera inside air conditioning vents at the home, according to Terri Cancilla, executive director of the PLUS Group Home Inc.

...

Authorities said the victim can not speak or convey emotions or pain because of her disease, which is characterized by impaired social interaction.