My Son Is A "Binger" According To Obese Erickson

One of the more hilarious moments in the hearing yesterday, was when Erickson, who was the state's "star witness and expert", claimed she felt my son showed signs of being at risk. She mentioned her observations and something about my son's actions, so I asked her what exactly she had observed personally which made her feel she could assess my son.

She could only come up with one time where she was present at a speech therapist meeting for my son, where I was also present. I had received an email from the speech therapist about how obviously, "something very right" had occured in the parenting of my son, because, the therapist said, he was so happy, well-adjusted, and social and trusting of adults. She said it was clear he was bonded to me and she complimented me.

Erickson, on the other hand, had a different impression. In her ONE opportunity to observe my son, she claimed my son became nervous when I started to "rant" about his and my medical problems. I reminded Erickson there had been no "rant" because the therapist wanted information and I told her I'd rather not discuss it in front of my son. I asked Erickson if she remembered this and if she also remembered that whenever my son felt shy or anxious around strangers, he went to ME, not to my aunt, who was also present and had been caring for him the last few months. So, in my cross-exam of Erickson, I asked her what "behavior" of my son, exactly, caused her concern. What did she say? She claimed that my son resorted to eating food when he was anxious. She said she noticed that whenever something seemed to bother him, he started eating a lot.

So I asked her, "So you think my son is a binger?"

It was one of the most ridiculous things. My son is 2 years old and has consistently, in my care, been in the highest percentiles for height and weight and has very good eating habits and yet, my son, seen through Erickson's eyes, had eating issues.

Let me give you a physical description of Michelle Erickson...

She is fat.

Not only is she fat, she eats when she is nervous, and she turns to food for comfort. Michelle Erickson is so fat, even a face photo would be enough to indicate she is obese and has food issues. Is she a binger? I do know the first thing she wanted to do after a hearing was to eat. And it is clear, by her weight, that she eats a lot. She is probably about 5'5" and weighs approximately 200 lbs. She has a big ass, a big stomach, and a fat face. This is not being mean, and I have been fat myself before. It is the truth.

How curious that the state's expert witness has NO real experience with younger children, and cannot make assesments without self-projection.

Erickson had nothing else to say about my son's behavior other than that SHE thought he "binged".

I know my son does not eat unless he's hungry. He has lost weight since he's been out of my care and his percentiles for height and weight have gone down dramatically. He was healthiest in my care.

I know what my son does when he's upset. He sucks his thumb. He doesn't "eat". He uses his thumb to comfort himself and he didn't do this in the meeting with the speech therapist.

But, according to Erickson, the state has got a 2 year old "binger" on their hands. Because she saw him eating some grapes (food my aunt brought in) inbetween playing, after my aunt had already explained to everyone in the room she hadn't had time to feed him breakfast because they got up late.

But my son is a binger, and, it's all my fault.

Thanks Cameo, for creating another American monster.

Another thing, the department and the speech therapist's office specifically told me I COULD NOT bring a tape recorder to the meeting. I said I felt I should bring one for my own protection, because of the lies people were coming up with, claiming I said things I never said, or had conversations I never had. I am not going to say, at this point, one way or the other, whether I did bring along a tape recorder in my bag or on my person. But I am just going to let CPS say what they will, and if they want to know how likely it would have been for me to ignore their request, especially after they were so interested in NOT having me record what was going on, they should ask the Abbey attorneys what their opinion is.