Canadian family says son with autism kicked out of ER for being loud, disruptive
Global News
The parents of a New Brunswick boy allege they were asked to leave the ER because their son, who has epilepsy and autism, was too loud while vocal stimming.
The parents of a New Brunswick boy say they’re angry after they were asked to leave a hospital emergency room because their son, who has ADHD and autism, was allegedly being too loud while he was waiting to be seen for seizures.
Lorissa and Glendon Kingston had brought their seven-year-old son, Cayden, to the Saint John Regional Hospital’s ER department on July 15.
Cayden, who is non-verbal and has epilepsy, has struggled with seizures since birth and had been experiencing longer episodes in recent days.
“The absence seizures are a lot more worse than the normal ones he has where he’s jolting. The absent ones can create issues … like brain damage,” his father, Glendon, explained.
The family called their pediatrician’s office and was advised to take Cayden to the Saint John Regional Hospital.
Lorissa says they were triaged by a nurse upon entering the ER and then told to wait in the children’s RAZ (rapid assessment zone) waiting room.
She recalls that after another patient left, she was alone with her son in that particular room.
“Then he started to get overwhelmed with all the seizures that he was having. So sometimes he vocal stims, and he’ll have vocal outbursts where he just screeches and it’s not really controllable,” Lorissa said.
