Not using respite home again

Unfortunately, we no longer feel comfortable sending Andy to the respite home we used to have him stay at several nights a year. The respite home didn't tell us that Andy was attacked by another child until I had to call them after his frantic arrival at school that morning. Andy's teacher called me at 9:30am to say that he was inconsolable. I could hear him screaming and crying in the background. "We've tried to do everything to calm him down, and we also noticed he has injuries on his arm. We saw the van that drops him off in the parking lot at 7:30am. They were just parked there so we think Andy was sitting in the van for 90 minutes".

I immediately felt so ill and nauseated. I had to call the home right away. Why didn't they call me last night to say he had been injured? Did he even eat any breakfast if he was in the van for over two hours with commute time? Maybe he couldn't sleep the night, and was woken up at 6am because they had to drop someone off at a nearby high school first. I know he wouldn't have eaten if woken that early. Was he screaming in the van? When he came out, the school staff said he was escalated and out of control already.

When I called the home, I needed clarification on what happened. They didn't answer the phone, but claimed they were standing there listening to my message. It took them an hour to call me back. They claimed he ate just fine, and never cried in the van. They claimed it was best for them to wake him early and just wait around in the parking lot so they wouldn't have to drive all the way back for him. I know my son, and he doesn't like sitting in a parked car for even 5 minutes. I told them I wished they would have called me when he was injured, I would have come to get him straight away. They said a child jumped on him and by the time "They came into the room and got him off of Andy, the damage had been done".The home defended themselves, and were certain that they did the right thing.

Andy had a large chunk of skin missing from his arm, along with several scratches. When he came home, it took him two hours to calm down. I can't send him anywhere again when he is in such a vulnerable state, where he can't talk to me or defend himself. It is unfortunate for Andy, and I think he must have been terrified after it occurred. It happened in the evening, so I'm not sure how well he slept after that. Not to mention being woken up at 5:30 or 6 am to go sit in a van for two hours. It is also unfortunate for us, because we lost a valuable resource.