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Nate's Story Timeline Medical and Academic Background: March 7. 2004:
Nate diagnosed with Asperger’s
Syndrome. (Thorough psychological testing by Dr. Mary J. Baker-Ericzen also
revealed Nate’s intelligence and many strong cognitive abilities.) Asperger’s
Syndrome is considered a neurological condition, however it is generally
accepted that individuals with this condition are highly intelligent and
actually have a high probability in obtaining a higher education and working
successfully in the fields of science, computer science, and/or technology. 2004:
Nate graduated with honors from High School: September
2004:
Nate's attempts to enroll in February 2005:
Nate’s attempts to enroll in
At this point Nate was also
denied use of the Student Services Office at the school which promises to
provide an array of counseling needs to any student desiring it. Parent opinion
was not considered in the scheduling of Nate’s classes or in the creation of
ways to meet Nate’s special needs. The school also attempted to coerce the
Tseglin’s to have a mental evaluation performed on Nate. More information
can be found about this by referencing Pinnock and Nate’s mishandling at the
school, denial of access to services, and academic and social isolation, led him
to have a nervous breakdown and loss of self-esteem. It should be noted that
improper academic enrollment, coercion to take mental evaluation, denial of
services, and non-compliance with parental requests, are all unlawful actions
taken by the school. Child
and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (CAPS) June-November
2005:Nate
is admitted multiple times to CAPS at
Return
Home: January-September
2006:
Nate was taken care of at home. He arrives home with newly developed anxiety,
erratic behavior, and aggression that was not present prior to his time at CAPS.
At home he was provided with full-time, 24-hour support, and non-pharmaceutical
treatments such as exercise, fresh diet, mental stimulation, family therapy,
pragmatic skills training, etc, etc. Return
to School: 2006:
Nate improved significantly enough at home in order to be able to return to
school. He began attending December
2006: Nate’s
teacher sent a report to CPS complaining of Nate’s scratches on his body and
of the soft restraints that Nate asked to wear to help him with his anxiety. The
soft restraints were approved by his doctor, Dr. Heidenfelder. Child
Protective Services: December
2006: CPS sent Mary
Berggren, a social worker, to the Tseglin’s apartment. They were told they
must sign an agreement for a mental evaluation of Nate by the County or else
they would take the Tseglins to Juvenile Court to get it ordered. They were never contacted by a
Psychologist for Nate’s evaluation. Instead, they were asked to attend
juvenile court. Mary Berggren told them that the court appointment was a just a
formality in ordering the psychological evaluation. December 14,
2006:
The Tseglin’s attended a hearing in Juvenile Court. The judge ordered a
psychological evaluation, and also ordered that custody of Nate was to be given
to CPS, although he would temporarily stay with the parents. During the hearing,
the court-appointed lawyer proposed the removal of Nate from his home and his
placement in a group home. The parents did not suggest or desire such a
suggestion or outcome. January 12,
2007: Lilian Asoera,
a social worker from CPS, called at 12pm. She said that she and her co-worker
Julie Weathersby were going to visit the home and talk to Nate. She asked when
the family would be home and they told her they would be there in an hour. Social workers Lilian Asoera and
Julie Weathersby did not show up to talk to Nate. At 2:20pm four sheriff
deputies entered the Tseglin’s home, provoked violence, and removed Nate from
the apartment in handcuffs. The social workers were waiting outside while the
arrest was going on and Nate was dragged barefoot to the police car. The
sheriff deputies did not have a court order. Instead they had a letter from Dr.
Nakhshab who had never seen Nate prior to that date and who was hired by CPS to
do a psychological evaluation on Nate. The letter bases the removal on
Tarasow’s law – which relies on the premise that the person being removed is
a danger to himself and others. The question is how this doctor knew Nate’s
condition without ever having been in his presence. Later Nate was taken to the
emergency room at During the 2 week duration of
his stay at CAPS, he was not prescribed any medications, nor did he receive the
medical evaluation which was the purpose of his placement there in the first
place. January 30,
2007: Nate was
discharged to an adult group home funded by February 1,
2007: Nate is
allowed to call his parents (who until that point had heard nothing from or
about him), however he was not allowed to disclose his location. February 6,
2007: CPS disclosed
the phone number of Nate’s group home to his parents. February 14,
2007: Nate’s
parents were finally allowed a 1 hour supervised visitation with Nate in a
neutral location. February 24,
2007: Second 1 hour
supervised visitation with Nate in the same location. March 8,
2007: Lillian
Asoera, a CPS social worker, gave the Tseglins the ultimatum that as a family
their communication was only to be in English or else communication would be cut
off. Nate tried to run away from the group home, and the police were involved.
Around this time Nate began taking Depakote, as prescribed by an unknown
neurologist. The Tseglins do not know if the neurologist ever even saw Nate. March 9,
2007: Lillian
Asoera cancelled a scheduled visitation with the justification that Nate had
misbehaved. Nate’s only activity at the group home was shopping with the group
home leader. March 13-19,
2007: Nate was
placed in CAPS due to him running away and accusations of impulsivity. He was
discharged from CAPS with no additional medications. March 19-28,
2007: Nate returned
to the group home, however the communication between Nate and his parents was
labeled the cause of Nate’s ‘misbehavior’ so communication between Nate
and his parents was once again limited and monitored. The Tseglins were told
that Nate was still on a Depakote regiment. March 28,
2007: Nate was
placed back in CAPS until residential placement was found. Nate’s parents visited Nate
daily at regular visiting hours from 6-7pm until the end of April. At that point
the Tseglins were chased away by hospital security OUTSIDE the hospital when
parents of other children approached them to discuss the Tseglin child’s
condition in the hospital. Hospital personnel explained that they were not
allowed to talk to other parents because it would jeopardize the prestige of the
hospital. The next day they were not
allowed in at their regular visiting hours, and instead were told that their
visitation time had been permanently changed to 4-5pm; the Tseglins complied and
began visiting Nate from 4-5pm daily. May 19, 2007:
Nate was injected with 5mg of Haldol, Ativan, and Cogentin. May 20, 2007:
Nate had a Grand Mal Seizure for the first time as a severe reaction to the
medications he was given. He bit his tongue and was delivered to the
children’s hospital emergency room. The medications were said to have been
prescribed as a response to an emergency, however the particulars of the
emergency (and hence the justification of this emergency response) were never
provided to the parents. May 21, 2007:
Nate’s parents speak to supervising psychiatrist Dr. Luft at CAPS. She said
Nate had refused Depakote and asked the Tseglins to convince him to take it. She
said that the alternative was a court order for the administration of monthly
injections of Haldol or Resperdal. The Tseglins did not want the latter option
because both of these medications lower seizure threshold, and Nate’s recent
seizures showed that he had a seizure disorder. (Dr. Luft also mentioned that
Nate’s ammonia level was significantly elevated at 77, and later in the
conversation disclosed that Depakote could raise ammonia levels.) Despite his
recent seizures, she said that Nate tolerates Haldol and Risperdal well. July 6, 2007:
Nate was injected with Haldol and Abilify. He was in bed the whole day. When the
Tseglins arrived at 4pm he was in bed and the Tseglins were forbidden to see
him. They did not know his condition and were not allowed to see him under the
pretence that they would violate the privacy of Nate’s roommate. Nate did not
have a roommate at this time. July 7, 2007:
The Tseglins visit to Nate was devastating. Nate’s tongue was protruding and
purple, his face was severely beaten, his muscles were stiff, and he was in and
out of consciousness. Nate’s face was supposedly beaten by the nurses’
manager Brad when Nate was restrained by him and other hospital workers.
Nate’s parents called an ambulance and Nate was taken to the E.R. at UCSD. From that day forward (until the
end of September 2007) visitations were forbidden. Communication was limited to
10 minute, English only, conversations on speakerphone that were interrupted
and/or disconnected if one word in Russian was spoken. During that time, a judge also
approved administration of psychotropic drugs for ‘emergencies’ that were
being created with inappropriate handling of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome,
who is sensitive to touch. The topic was to be revisited on September 21, 2007. August 27,
2007: Nate bit his
tongue once again during convulsions. He was given enough sedatives that he
slept for almost 24 hours. He was put on a heavy dose of antibiotics to treat
tongue blisters, and consistently reacted to psychotropic drugs with
convulsions. As far as Nate’s parents know, Nate has been given Keppra
(anticonvulsant), Celexa (antidepressant ordered by the court; also a new drug
on the market with little history in human use), and Benadryl (for insomnia). August 8,
2007: Report by Dr.
J. Rowe of Juvenile Forensic Services requests that the court order psychotropic
medications to treat Nate’s mental illness. Nate’s parents were unwilling to
permit this treatment. The report also accused the Tseglins of bizarre and
paranoid behavior toward the clinical staff. CPS threatened the Tseglins that
their family would be hurt if they were not willing to stop pressing for
Nate’s release. They were also accused by CPS of having the ‘wrong’ set of
beliefs and culture, and of hiding history of mental disease. CPS also demanded
a court order that the parents undergo psychological evaluation, and appointed
specialists who are on CPS payroll to perform the evaluation. CPS social workers Ms. Sharkey
and Mr. Wells did not respond to the Tseglins request that their evaluations be
made by an independent psychologist who is not on CPS’s payroll. (The
parents also feel that the evaluation is not valid or accurate because it is not
designed to take into account their cultural differences). CPS claimed that reunification
and visitation are prohibited because no progress toward cooperation with the
agency was being made. Nate continues to be in the
acute care facility at CAPS where the longest hospitalization is normally
limited to 2 weeks. His day is spent mostly in bed after being medicated with
psychotropic medications. He is not allowed to have books, use the Internet,
and/or communicate with other children because he has been labeled by staff as a
sexual predator and a racist. His sleep is routinely disturbed every 15 minutes
at night and the hospital has claimed that this is procedural. The parents
complain to the hospital administration about the sleep disruptions by the
hospital staff, night worker Ron, but are ignored by the hospital and CPS. Parents have proposed numerous
residential treatment programs, but they have all been denied. CPS supervisor Mr. Daily
admitted to parents in a 2007 conversation that he planned to permanently
institutionalize Nate. CPS is not planning to reunite Nate with his family. Copyright © 2008, GetNateHome. All rights reserved. |
