Lawyer here with family law, disability law, and experience as an advocate for kids in foster care. This story is not remotely shocking, unusual, or in my estimation inappropriate.

I am conflicted on this whole thing, but want to point out that a baby choking on crackers, or getting out of your reach for a second, or going down a slide unaided are all mistakes that could be made by ANY first-time parent, developmentally disabled or not.

Your mom sounds so much like my sister. It’s so hard because my sister is equally defensive and cripplingly embarrassed about her disabilities (for example, she actually completed a course in high school for comsotology. She was very talented, and passed the practical exam fine. She could not, however, pass the…

Yeah, I’m with you. Possibly a bit less charitable...

It must be horrific to have your kid taken from you and not understanding why. But the reality of a mentally disabled person raising a kid is really rough. It can be done with lots and lots of help from social workers, family members etc., but unfortunately even if it is possible it is just not always in the best…

Probably because it is their grandchild and they love her. It’s that simple.

I think a situation like this would be ideal for some sort of co parenting set up between the biological mom and the foster family - does that exist? I think it’s obvious she loves her child and is making every effort she can to be a good parent. I think it’s also obvious that there could be some real dangers and…

My brother and his wife, both ex-junkies on methodone at the time of their son’s birth, were assessed as unfit to care for their child. Instead of having him removed, the government (B.C. Health Dept.) sent child development workers to their apartment every day for three hours for the first six months of his life.…

Here’s a bit more on why she received the certificate instead of a diploma. Quite a few people in Massachusetts actually leave high school with a certificate of attendance instead of a diploma because you have to pass the MCAS here in order to receive a high school diploma. I knew a couple of people who did really…

My sister’s IQ is about 65. She’s very high functioning in some areas, very low in others. She does well enough to live on her own, but just barely. She forgets to take medication, struggles with simple cooking directions, etc. She actually conceived several times but miscarried. I do not believe that her body was…

I think it’s okay to offend adults when children are involved. No child deserves to be treated like a learning experience for an adult who isn’t competent.

In an ideal world, the foster parents would teach her how to care for her baby but it’s not an ideal world. It’s the real world. In the real world, foster parents have their own kids and work and lives to attend to. It’s not their job to educate the biological mother on how to care for her child - it’s just not. If…

Honestly, the record her family has concerns me, and I think I would also have sided with DCF on this up and until she took those classes and proved her competency. DCF is spread thin as it is, and I don’t think daily visits are in the cards or budget for anyone.

Sigh. I have a learning-disabled parent with a below-average IQ. Not 70, but not great. I have a lot of feelings about this article but I’ll sum it up with, “I think intellectually disabled people can be great parents, but they are also not always ideal parents and their children will face many, many hurdles that go…

(Sara’s parents, additionally, had a history of DCF investigation and intervention in the ‘90s, and weren’t the most fit secondary choices, either.)

I feel for her and while I’m glad she got her daughter back, the state and the hospital were doing their job, which was to protect the child. I’m a pediatrician and see many parents who, to be completely honest, shouldn’t be taking care of their children without help. I’m not saying everyone with some developmental…

Hmm, I totally agree with your last paragraph. I have that exact feeling a lot lately when people call people out on their privilege in a sort of judgmental way. Like, the whole point of privilege is that it is a perception of the world because of benefits that you’ve had that you are not aware of until you learn to…

I think what she was trying to say is “the liberal white dudes of Hollywood are more willing to believe that racial discrimination still takes place than sex discrimination still takes place.” It’s hard to tell because she chose to say it in the most obnoxious, tone-deaf way possible.

Actors and/or celebrities are frequently uneducated or ignorant.

Honestly, given how badly women are treated in Hollywood (so fucking badly) I think she’s probably right that women are treated worse than black men.