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.

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

(Some) Maine Parents of Children with Autism Embrace DAN Treatment Protocol

The Bangor Daily News is reporting on Maine parents of autistic children who have embraced the DAN protocol for treating their autistic children. The article provides testimonials from parents who endorse the DAN treatment protocol and quotes and references from authorities which describe the DAN protocol as "voo doo" science. The article is a balanced presentation of a controversial autism subject and is accompanied by a companion article reporting on the 1 in 150 prevalence figure and the mainstream recommendations for ABA treatment with judicious use of pharmaceutical applications.

http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=147858&zoneid=500

http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=147862&zoneid=500

Maine parents embrace controversial treatment model for autistic children

By Meg Haskell

Saturday, March 24, 2007 - Bangor Daily News

Their DAN! protocols are based on the premise that autism develops in individuals with a genetically heightened intolerance of certain foods and common environmental toxins.

In these individuals, the theory suggests, prenatal exposure through the mother’s diet, medications, dental fillings and other sources, combined with the onslaught of vaccines, antibiotics and other substances commonly experienced by babies and young children, set off a self-perpetuating metabolic storm. The result is the range of neurological symptoms and behavior associated with autism-related disorders.

DAN! practitioners believe that by interrupting this storm and eliminating the substances that triggered it, individuals can regain their neurological health. The special diets, supplements and other remedies DAN! practitioners prescribe are designed to accomplish this.

...

Among conventional medical practitioners and others in the field, the DAN! approach is at least controversial and often divisive.

"Anyone who’s talking ‘cure’ is talking fraud," said Vincent Strully, founder and executive director of the New England Center for Children in Southborough, Mass.

In a recent telephone interview, Strully said parents who elect to follow the DAN! protocols are gambling with their children’s future by investing time, energy and money in an unproven treatment that builds false hope and is based on "voodoo science."

Despite its endorsement by some well-intentioned medical professionals, Strully said, DAN! is just one of a number of short-lived pseudoscientific fads developed in recent years to capitalize on parents’ desperation.

Parents who wish to enroll their autistic children in his ABA-based education and research program must specifically agree not to dabble in such treatments.

Dr. Don Burgess, president of the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is more conciliatory. Burgess, who practices in Kennebunk, emphasized that a link between autism and vaccines has never been proven, and that even though most vaccines no longer contain mercury, rates of autism continue to climb.

The lack of well-designed research studies on the safety and effectiveness of DAN! and similar approaches is disturbing, Burgess said, but he understands parents’ need to explore alternatives for their autistic children.

Dietary changes overseen by a physician or nutritionist are unlikely to hurt children and may even prove helpful, Burgess allowed.

But chelation is potentially dangerous and should be avoided except in cases where a child’s blood level of mercury or lead is extremely high, he said.

From up in Aroostook County, Deb Lipsky says DAN! is "a bunch of bunk." Diagnosed with high-functioning autism just 1½ years ago, Lipsky, 45, has emerged as a popular national speaker and first-hand expert on living with autism. She also facilitates a Bangor support group for parents and others affected by the disorder.

Lipsky, who lives in Linneus, said ABA and other behavioral models "work beautifully" for many children and adults with autism. The group she runs is accepting and supportive of whichever treatments parents explore, she said, but will not tolerate fanaticism.

True believers

Parents who embrace DAN! don’t see themselves as fanatics — just truth-tellers.

"We need to get the message out that autism is a treatable illness," declared Belfast resident and DAN! mother Tina Frank.

Frank leads a local support group for mothers who, like her, follow the DAN! protocols. The group is called MIMRAC — Moms in Maine Recovering Autistic Children. Laura Plourde, who now works for Fredric Shotz in Portland, is a regular visitor to the Belfast meeting and also runs a similar group in Portland.

Frank’s 5-year-old son, Jeffrey, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 but is now "nearly cured," she said, thanks to the intensive interventions prescribed and monitored by Shotz.

She and the other mothers in the Belfast group are undaunted by the lack of double-blind studies or peer-reviewed articles about DAN! in mainstream medical journals.