Posted on 09/07/2016 6:12:29 PM PDT by digger48
Edited on 09/07/2016 8:24:56 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)
(Excerpt) Read more at wishtv.com ...
Going to hug my autistic son. I would never abandon him or his mother.
This is the most....what? The most heartbreaking story I’ve read in a long time. I can only speculate why she allowed the situation to reach this point where she was without hope.
Perhaps the mother had too much pride to admit that caring for her son was too much for her. Year after year took it’s toll. She needs to be institutionalized and kept away from children and other helpless people. I know little about the boy’s father except that he’s still alive. Maybe this woman shut the father out if he voiced any disagreement with her methods. Tragic and preventable.
This story is indeed heartbreaking. She cared for the child for 19 years. He was still wearing diapers.
The father said he was like an elementary school child. Really? In diapers in elementary school?
Where was the father when the child was missing for 3 days?
Fortunately we have someone with much more wisdom who will judge.
It’s a pity. I suspect she had very little support structure for many years and she finally emotionally crumbled. Seems like she needed help taking care of her autistic son and didn’t get it. So one day she flips out on drugs and her son dies. It’s a tragedy all around.
Incredibly sad.
Yes,I know I'll get slammed for that comment but....
You won’t by me. I was thinking the same.
everything is different if you have a disabled child..
10-Year-Old Blind Autistic Boy Sings Open the Eyes of my Heart
I guess you have the choice of raising them on your own with limited resources, or surrendering your disabled child to the physical custody of the state with family serving in a limted capacity as conservator. All or nothing at all.
I’m so sorry for this family. Heartbreaking situation all the way around. The mom knew that she was in store for more-of-the-same for decades to come. The help and support of family and friends may have long-since dried up and there may not have been easy access to respite care.
Poor young man. Poor Mom. You just never know what people are going through.
I honestly couldn’t get through this article. It was too sad and... well, as you posted, digger, words fail.
My daughter, when she was about four years old, had a friend whose brother was autistic.
I spent a lot of time at their house; the patience and energy that that little boy’s mom showed was amazing. Totally unbelievable. I don’t think I could have raised a special needs child like that without a lot of prayer.
However, I do know one thing: I could never kill a human being, let alone my own child, a gift from the Creator.
What the hell is with the poor mom baloney??
She was on meth!!
This happened 10 miles from my shop.
There are countless organizations in the area that would have helped her or she could have given him to the state.
She deserves the needle!
When states closed down homes for the mentally retarded they closed a lifeline of compassion for many families.
Not all people can care for the MR. Prior to the state homes, MRs were often killed or locked in basements. Families would be overwhelmed.
Locally two families had parent autistic child murder suicides in the past couple of years. Parents are pushed to the brink.
Legalize drugs.
It’s a victimless crime.
Exactly.
My adopted sons biological mother was a meth/crack/pot/ whatever she could get her hands on user while she was pregnant.
My son is 12 and suffers from some extreme mental problems we believe are connected to drug use during brain development.
I had to go back to the article to see the part about the mother being on meth; I missed it the first time. Not good.
My point is actually still intact, though. I have several students who are autistic, all over the spectrum...and I have a brother who is 100% blind. Either disability sucks on its own; I cannot imagine the difficulties in trying to raise a child/young adult who has both.
Yes, she did a horrible, unspeakable thing and should be punished appropriately, but I’m guessing the organizations that would have helped along the way aren’t quite as “countless” in number as you might think. That is just a guess, but one based on 20 years as a special educator. It may be different where you live.
You are so right...everything you said.
We applaud moms for choosing not to abort (sincerely!), but the reality is that parenthood is tough enough with a “normal” child; it’s magnified tremendously when any sort of disability or defect enters the picture. One little chromosomal anomaly and you may have a child who will NEVER have a normal life...and a set of parents (if the child is lucky) who are hit with the realization that they will never stop being full-time care givers. The public education system can be very helpful, but once the child ages out, things get even tougher.
As you said, parents are pushed to the brink.
It really is such a horrible blight on our society and families.
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