Why did Karen McCarron, a respected physician and advocate for autistic children, smother her three-year-old daughter with a plastic bag?
The toll of autism has a lot of people in heated discussion.
Her husband has filed for divorce. Grandfather Michael McCarron said
Karen McCarron had a lot of resources and help with Katie, whom he described as a happy, endearing child who loved to swing and play in the grass and would line up her Teletubbie dolls so they could "kiss" each other.
"This was not a question of there's no place to turn, there's no support," Michael McCarron said. "This was not a murder about autism."
Actually, the discussion has been heated since the day the alleged murder became public. The response from Karen McCarron's friends and the autism advocacy community glossed over the fact that the father and paternal grandmother had been Katie's caregivers for 20 months - living in a different state. Karen McCarron had her for all of two weeks before she allegedly killed her.
Here's some questions about the coverage:
Why are autism "advocates" identifying with the alleged killer, rather than the grieving father and grandparents - the ones who were actuall raising Katie?
Why aren't the getting comments from people who are autistic? There are quite a few of them blogging about it.
And, btw, this isn't even the worst article in terms of being sympathetic toward the mother.
Posted by: Stephen Drake at June 9, 2006 2:00 PMthe news services seems to be grouping this story (the mother who smothered her daughter) together with a story about a couple who *locked their autistic son in a burning building*, and also a story about a mother who jumped with her autistic son off a bridge.
they are all three very different stories and very different circumstances.
I have two children with autism, and I have a different reaction to each of these stories.
the mother who smothered her daughter is not garnering any sympathy from me. the couple who burned their son alive are being reserved a very special place in hell.
but the mother and son who jumped off the bridge--- this I can understand. I'm not saying I condone it... but if you've reached the point where no one is giving you the amount of support that you NEED and you feel like you can't take it any more and you feel like leaving your child behind would be an act of cruelty because no one but you is doing anything for them anyway...
I think THAT is what all the hullaballoo is about.
and if it isn't, it should be.
Posted by: mia howell at June 9, 2006 4:01 PMStephen and Mia
Thank you for your comments. You both seem to have a lot of experience that could enlighten us who know little. I have some questions for you both.
1. What have you learned about autism?
2. What do you want people to know?
3. What advice would you give to parents of an autistic child?