A Child's Cry for Help is a 1994 American made-for-television drama film starring Pam Dawber and Veronica Hamel, with a supporting role by a young Tobey Maguire.
Adding to Dr. Spencer's stress is her troubled relationship with rebellious teenage daughter, Amanda, who is still grieving over the loss of her father and trying to fit in at a new school.
To top it off, the two are later victims of a robbery by the woman Dr. Spencer hired as a housekeeper, whose take included some irreplaceable jewelry Amanda had received as gifts from her late father.
However, an unexpected break occurs when a young patient tells Amanda (who works as a candy striper at the hospital) that she saw Monica in Eric's room the night before, thus violating the restraining order against her.
The next day in court, the prosecution drops a bombshell with the revelation that between 1989 and 1994, while he and his mother lived in Seattle, Eric had been admitted to various hospitals with unexplained abdominal cramps a total of twenty-six times, which was eventually diagnosed as laxative abuse.