Severe Autism, A Broken Father and A Fatality Inquiry

 2009 Obituary Notice Photo of Jeremy & Jeffrey Bostick, at mintofh.com

Some people say that it is unfair to describe a person with autism as either severely autistic or low functioning.  Such  rhetoric is sheer nonsense that helps hide the very existence of  people with severe autistic disorders.

In Edmonton a severely autistic boy  killed by his father in a murder suicide two years ago is now the subject of a fatality inquiry in Edmonton. The inquiry is being reported on a number of major news outlets including CBC, CTV and the Edmonton Journal. Unfortunately it takes a tragedy before the lives of those who are severely autistic are acknowledged by the media.

I do not mean and I do not insinuate that in this case the father was in any way  "justified" in his actions, or that his son's severe autism "caused" the father to take their lives.  I am simply pointing to the challenges faced by the severely autistic boy in his short life, by service providers, by the family, and by the father who broke from various challenges, including his son's severe autism disorder,  job loss and debt loads.  Much of the reported evidence details the father's stress in living with, and caring for, his severely autistic and intellectually disabled son.  Another was living without him, seeing first hand the institutionalized life that awaited his son. According to reported testimony the father "snapped" after seeing the group home where his son was about to be sent to live. 

The son's behavioral challenges, as reported in the Edmonton Journal, leave no room to rationally harbor the absurd notion that it is unfair to describe persons with autism by severity or functioning level:

"Jeremy’s parents reported he had “blow ups” several times a day, banged his head when unhappy and displayed other difficult behaviours. The agency helped the family find daycare for the boy and he was placed in a specialized school program for children with special needs.

But by 2007, Jeremy’s behaviour had worsened, Caputo told the inquiry. He was routinely sent home from day cares for striking and biting infants. At one point, he head-butted his father while leaving the hospital, knocking Bostick unconscious. Caputo said she couldn’t physically handle Jeremy and her relationship with Bostick had virtually collapsed just before the deaths in 2009.

Caputo described a combination of waits for services and said some agencies dropped the family because staff couldn’t handle Jeremy’s violent outbursts."

The mainstream media routinely publish "feel good" stories about autism. The   "autism is an advantage", "autism is beautiful", "joy of autism" rhetoric is routinely offered up for public consumption.

It is a sad reality that it takes a tragic event like this murder suicide to force the realities of severe autistic disorder, the intellectual disability and serious behavioral challenges that often come with it, into the mainstream media spotlight.

The current inquiry will have heard the evidence and will hopefully be able to make some significant, helpful recommendations for persons like Jeremy and his family.

As the father of a severely autistic son with intellectual disabilities I recommend that we all start by talking honestly about the realities of severe autism and stop the harmful nonsense of pretending that it does not exist.