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Back in August, before I was accepted into a 4 year “Bachelor of Science in Nursing” Program, I was a single mother of a 7 year old son who has high functioning Autism struggling to make ends meet plus trying to meet my son’s needs at the same time. Anyway, when I was accepted into the 4-year nursing program, I knew that I would struggle because my son’s needs were overwhelming but fortunately for me my neighbours who are Sikhs told me that they have some relatives in India who can take care of my son for a few hundred dollars a month while I am going to nursing school. It was too good to be true and I originally thought it was the perfect arrangement; no interruptions while I am doing my studies and my son is in a supportive family environment. However, all seemed fine until I got a phone call from the wife of the family in India who was hosting my son last October telling me that my son was causing their own son to want to cut his hair and as a result they wanted to send my son back home. Because having my son home again would severely disrupt my studies, I desperately tried to make a deal with her and her husband and they agreed to continue taking care of my son but he would have to follow the family’s Sikh way of life and he would have to refrain from cutting his hair. I agreed to their terms and was relieved that I can continue my nursing education without worry. My son told me on the phone that he does not like having long hair and wearing a patka and I do feel guilty for making my son go through this but I cannot deal with him while I am going to University because my son’s Autism is too much for me to handle and the Sikh family who is taking care of him seems to be making progress in teaching him basic social skills.

I want to know if I done the right thing for my son?