I've just read that Kelly Stapleton who attempted to kill her autistic daughter has pleaded guilty to the crime. I hope this makes Neurodiversity happy. But I guess nothing short of Ms. Stapleton's execution would please them. Nearly a year ago I wrote a blog post where I discussed this sad case and Ari Ne'eman's reaction to it. Ms. Stapleton had initially contemplated entering an insanity plea, but I guess she either didn't want to drag her family through the ordeal or she realized she had no chance of having it fly. I find it ironic that an organization like ASAN comprised of at least one lawyer, at least one college professor, and graduate students alleging to be on the autistic spectrum and don't seem to do anything to help lower functioning autistics such as Ms. Stapleton's daughter would take such an interest in the case. Before the media made much of the Stapleton affair last year, Ari Ne'eman and his ilk neglected to comment on the quality of life of nonverbal, violent persons on the spectrum who are at the polar opposite of Meg Evans, Melanie Yergeau, and computer science Ph.D. candidate Scott Robertson. To the best of my knowledge, they never proposed any solutions to the problems of individuals such as Izzy Stapleton, but only stating that a cure for individuals such as these would be tantamount to eugenics.
Ne'eman seemed skeptical that the justice system would do their job. I realize it is premature to say whether this is the case or not as the woman has not yet been sentenced and we don't know what her punishment, if any, will be. Apparently, she was prosecuted and had no legitimate defense other than alleged insanity which she chose not to invoke. So apparently Ne'eman's allegation that the media were claiming that it is okay for parents to kill their autistic children didn't stop Ms. Stapleton's being charged with a crime.
I still wonder why an organization such as ASAN which as of 2011 had 501(c) status can't work to solicit donations so that services exist which may have prevented this tragedy from happening. This is not to condone what Ms. Stapleton did, but there are still a lot of things I don't understand.
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2 comments:
Roger I could not agree more with your assessment of ari ne'eman As far as cerebral folate deficiency, I'm not sure how interested in it I am as I doubt that is what causes my own problems. Also, I'm not sure how common it is as an etiology of most autisms, so don't know if it would really help many people on the spectrum, but if it helped you, I'm glad.
I don't agree with what Stapleton did, but I do feel bad for her. She probably has PTSD from her daughter uncontrollably attacking her. But of course, the ND crowd puts parents like her under the rug.
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