Brett Harper

Many Christians seem to have a willful stubborn ignorance when it comes to mental health topics especially anything to do with mental illness or behavioral health. That isn’t entirely an accident or all upbringing but it seems to be something taught in many of these ultra conservative groups, churches, etc. When I was growing up my dad would say things like “ADHD is just a made up disease.” He would grumble about people getting Social Security for being “disabled” and said that they were “cheating the system” like your typical run of the mill conservative Republican. When I was struggling with intense chronic back pain he would basically insist I was lazy that I didn’t want to work or that I just wanted a hand out.

The truth is I was in pain and I’ve since had two back surgeries and I am still in pain every day. It makes working normal jobs impossible when you are constantly in pain, have to take time off to go to doctors, specialists like I do, take care of yourself, it takes longer to get dressed even. I may not look like it but I struggle with certain movements and still have sharp, acing sciatic pain that goes down my left and sometimes right legs preventing me from doing too much strenuous physical activity at a time. I’m in much better shape now, have reduced inflammation with my diet, done all sorts of work in therapy for about nine years now but the trauma and scars of the child abuse and church abuse I endured as a kid and the after affects of my poor decisions after are still haunting me and the memories and my PTSD make working impossible.

So how did I get here? Why does any of this matter? Well I don’t want your pity or sympathy I don’t know what to do with it when people give me that. I just want to educate you for a moment about Christians and the way they treat people especially children with disabilities.

If you have read my 1st book Spare the Rod: A Troubling Look At The Troubled Teen Industry you’d know my story, that when I was six months old my father Michael Haynes shot and murdered my mother Sarah Rose Mishler and my grandfather Frank while I lay in the crib one night. He fled but was later arrested and I speak with him sometimes from prison. He has of course apologized and is a different man all these years later in prison but that doesn’t change what he did. Its an awkward situation and I haven’t shut the door on him and have been learning things about him and needed to for my own knowledge of our families history and because I’ve worked hard to make sure I never end up anything like him. If there is some mental illness some evil in me I want to be able to get help and overcome it and part of that has been studying him and the rest of his family and doing the DNA genetic research through my psych etc.

It shouldn’t surprise you I had PTSD as a child. What might surprise you is I was never diagnosed. I also had ADHD and possibly autism; although I will admit I’m not diagnosed autistic people have told me they believe this to be the case. The testing, as an adult, is hard to find. I may do this testing later. I may not. Currently I’m diagnosed as having failed back surgery syndrome (when a back surgery fails and you are expected to have to have future surgeries), cPTSD, MDD and ADHD/OCD type. Some of this should have been diagnosed when I was a child but my parents believed in taking me to pastors and youth pastors and a person to cast out demons. Anything but actually getting my tested psychologically.

Now some people say I should forgive my parents because our knowledge of these things has risen in recent years and yes I get that. We know much more now than we did back then. However I don’t think my parents, in retrospect, tried hard enough. I don’t think they fought hard enough for me. I’m adopted, by my aunt, my mom Sarah’s sister, and her husband Bill, who is now deceased. I feel like as soon as their son Matt and other kids were old enough I was already out of the house and in a boys home where I was abused, molested and exploited for labor then a boarding school where much of the same persisted for 4 years. They simply gave up on me. I was too difficult. My temper was obviously demons not PTSD.

If this sounds familiar then you have a similar background. Kids with autism, PTSD, anxiety, depression, are all told they are lazy, just not properly motivated, priviledged and gaslit when they come forward with their issues to their parents. They are told that things like ADHD are not real when they are and have profound affects on learning and comprehension. By doing this they deny a child the extra help and protections they need as a disabled child to flourish and thrive.

This willful ignorance and disdain for the disabled is contrary to the teachings of Jesus who healed the sick, went and hung out with lepers, had a best friend who was a whore etc. God’s love is for everyone. The Christians asking why people aren’t coming to church as much should ask themselves; would Jesus be pleased with how you treat the poor, immigrants, the disabled, people you don’t like or whose existence maybe you find inconvenient?

With the elimination of the Department of Education funding for special education could be at risk.

Special education funding, crucial for supporting students with disabilities, faces potential cuts and challenges, with federal funding falling short of the actual costs and states struggling to meet the growing demand. 

Here’s a breakdown of the issues:

1. Federal Funding Shortfalls:

• Inadequate Coverage:The federal government, through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is authorized to cover up to 40% of the average per-pupil cost of special education, but has historically provided much less, with the highest funding levels reaching only about 18%. 
• Reliance on State and Local Funds:States and local governments bear the brunt of funding special education, often facing competing priorities and struggling to meet the growing demand. 
• High-Cost Disabilities:The High Cost Disability Fund, which reimburses districts for students with special needs exceeding a certain cost threshold, often lacks sufficient resources to fully cover these high costs. 
• Disparities in Spending:There’s significant variation in special education spending across states, with some states spending significantly more per student than others. 

2. Potential Threats to Funding:

• Federal Cuts:Proposed changes at the Department of Education, including dismantling the department or defunding programs like Title I and IDEA, could exacerbate the problem of underfunding special education. 
• Project 2025:This plan, which some believe could be implemented by the Trump administration, proposes to dismantle the Department of Education, which could harm students with disabilities by potentially transferring programs like IDEA to other agencies or defunding them. 
• Title I at Risk:Title I, which provides funding to schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty, could be converted into block grants without any accountability, potentially leading to cuts in services and support for these students. 

3. Consequences of Underfunding:

• Limited Resources for Students:Underfunded special education programs can lead to smaller class sizes, fewer advanced classes, lack of resources, and less experienced teachers. 
• Long Waitlists:Shortages in early intervention and early childhood special education staff can lead to long waitlists for services like speech, occupational, and physical therapy. 
• Harmful Discipline Practices:Students with disabilities are suspended, expelled, restrained, and secluded at significantly higher rates than their nondisabled peers, and underfunding can exacerbate these issues. 
• Disparities in Outcomes: Underfunding can lead to disparities in outcomes for students with disabilities, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. 

So just remember who was in charge and who did this when your public schools start disappearing and your special education departments fall apart and kids are left without even basic supports to help them. A new Dark Age is upon us brought to you by the same religious extremists that brought you the last one. They seek to dumb down America and indoctrinate the willing, break, torture, or disappear those they cannot.