Maine Man Shoots and Kills Autistic Son and Himself

Dennis Hoey of  The Portland Press Herald  reports that a man in Gray, Maine shot and killed himself and his 22 year old autistic son yesterday:

"A father shot and killed his autistic son Tuesday at their home on Yarmouth Road before turning the rifle on himself, Maine State Police said. Cumberland County sheriff's deputies found the bodies of Daniel McLatchie, 44, and his son, Benjamin McLatchie, 22, in the family's driveway at 227 Yarmouth Road around 2:30 p.m.  ... State police Sgt. Chris Harriman said ...  it appeared that Daniel McLatchie was upset about what would happen to his autistic son after he and his wife died. He was a stay-at-home father, Harriman said. Daniel McLatchie's wife, Allison McLatchie, 45, was at work when the shootings happened."

Ginger Taylor the Maine author of the Adventures in Autism blog, and herself the mother of an autistic son, was interviewed and  notes the lack of services including counseling services for families with autistic children.  Ms Taylor commented on the pressures on families with autism and on the greatest fear of many parents of autistic children:

"That is the big question -- what happens to our child when we die. .... We understand their needs better than anyone else. It really breaks my heart hearing what happened to this family. It shouldn't be like that."

Many people will undoubtedly condemn Daniel McLatchie for taking his son's life.   Some will call for more services.   Few, if any, will take the real action necessary to ensure that people  with autism disorders like Benjamin McLatchie have a decent place to live when their parents are dead.    

Few, during Autism Awareness Month, and certainly not Hollywood or the main stream media giants, will look beyond the  accomplishments of a few High Functioning media celebrity "autistics" to  even acknowledge the existence of severely autistic persons living desperate lives in institutional facilities.  Even fewer will acknowledge, without mocking or attacking them, the fears of parents  obsessed with worry about what will happen to their children after they die. 


In the end, whether it is at the hands of a distraught parent, or from life in prison like, psychiatric hospitals, it is the most vulnerable, the most severely affected by autism disorders who suffer from lack of reality based autism awareness and support services.

Read more »

Severe Autism Reality - Adult Autism Care Crisis for Maine Family

Caring for severely autistic persons is not easy and it does not get any easier as autistic children become adults and parents and other family members also age. In A Crisis in Caring Meg Haskell of the Bangor Daily News has an excellent report on Jennie Segerson, a 29 year old severely autistic Maine woman who has been living with her mother and family members who obviously love her very much. Jennie's mother is now 69, blind as a result of diabetes, and the private care agency workers who come to her home are poorly trained and motivated. Jennie herself can become aggressive and violent to herself and others. Her mother now faces the likelihood of permanent separation from Jennie because she can no longer care for her safely.

As the father of a severely autistic boy in the neighboring Canadian province of New Brunswick this story really hit me. Ms Haskell pulls no punches telling the truth about Jennie's severe autism challenges. It is not the kind of information you are likely to find reading about autism on Neurodiversity blog sites such as those of the so called "Autism" Hub bloggers usually written by, or about, high functioning autistics or persons with Aspergers. But while Ms Haskell describes Jennie's severe autism realities candidly she also conveys the deep love Jennie's mother has for her and the anguish she feels at the prospect of losing her daughter.

On a lighter note I had to laugh when reading about Jennie's excitement as she waited for her brother in law to arrive in his silver truck to take Jennie to her day care program:

""Silver truck!" she exclaimed, her shy smile breaking into a wide grin of delight and anticipation. "Silver truck!" She clutched her battered doll, Silver, in glee, waiting for the sound of the pickup pulling into the driveway."

I thought of Conor as I read that paragraph and his requests for "silver car" as a way of summoning Dad home from work ... in my silver Camry.

autism

Read more »