"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities."
In memory of Katie, who deserved better.
Katherine McCarron's life ended at 3 years
From the police report:
It would appear that Dr. Karen McCarron was a mercury mom in training, she had reputed "expertise" and it appears that some of this was "biomedical" misinformation gained from talking to the mercury moms and dads, see also here as well as from quacks promoting vaccines as the most significant cause of autism.
Dr. David Ayoub, was said to be a friend of hers. Here is Ayoub on Autism:
In his latest newsletter, Ed Aranga, of "Autism One," a big promoter of mercury mythology, implied that the video "Autism Every Day" from Autism Speaks was a possible contributory factor in Karen McCarron's cold blooded decision to murder her child, here he takes a journalist to task:
Mr. Aranga, apparently feels that had the video shown how chelation and other "biomedical" treatments can "cure" autistic children then the mother would have had hope and not killed her child after viewing the film.
Oddly enough, Autism Diva agrees, in part, with Mr. Aranga, it is quite possible that the turning point in Karen McCarron's decision to kill her child may have been seeing the horrifically slanted propaganda produced to raise money for Autism Speaks and a school in New York. In the video Autism Speaks official, Alison Tepper Singer, shares her previous plan to kill herself and her daughter, in the presence of that daughter, and adds that the only reason she didn't commit a murder-suicide is for the sake of the non-autistic daughter. There's no shock or shame expressed by anyone in the video over this recalling of intent to kill on the part of Ms. Singer. The message is: it's ok to think about killing your autistic child, after all they are such hideous beasts. We don't know if Dr. McCarron saw the "Autism Every Day" video, but even if she didn't she was certainly exposed to the unrelenting negativity and warped "hope" offered by the charlatans who sell "cures" for autism.
That unrelenting negativity is, in part, the legal strategy of trial lawyers who will try to present a case of "a generation of children destroyed by thimerosal." In the "Generation Rescue" scenario, everything about autism BAD, BAD, BAD all the time. Someone somewhere is calculating every extra dollar to be had for every time the word, "devastating" is presented in the same sentence with "autism" in a newspaper, and every extra hundred dollars to be had for every quack who will claim somewhere at a conference, or on the internet, to have "recovered" a child by "removing" "mercury" from the child's brain.
Autistic adults have been specifically trying to counteract that unrelenting negativity, and for their trouble have been attacked viciously by the likes of "Schafer Autism" Report editor, Lenny Schafer and Generation Rescue demigod, JB Handley.
"Autism Every Day" was shown at a big to-do in New York. See how happy the Autism Speaks gang were to share their dismal, devastated, denigrating, despicable view of autism with their wealthy friends?
Katie McCarron was murdered by her mother on the day before Mother's day. The next day, in another part of the country, for some unthinkable purpose, Nicolaas and Agnes Degroot locked their 19 year old autistic son, Christopher, in their apartment, but not before setting a fire in the living room.
"Killing children who have disabilities is basically no different from killing other children," says Professor Richard Sobsey. "Society has constructed a myth that says it's OK, or at least not really too bad, to kill these children."
Please, please read Ballastexistenz' discussion of the kind of society and the thinking of the kind of society that produces murderers of the kind that killed Christopher Degroot and Katie McCarron. Few people take the time to analyze the long term ramifications of individual and cultural attitudes and actions. Besides individual responsibilty for murder there is community responsibilty for murder. It's not the kind of thing that courts can deal with so it's widely ignored, at least within this culture. Think about the meaning of "Ballastexistenz." It's a word used by Nazi's to dehumanize the lives of disabled people who were in line to be "mercy" killed for their being burdens on themselves as well as on the Third Reich.
More recommended reading, in no particular order:
A blog entry from Huff's Crime Blog regarding the murder of Katie McCarron. It is surprisingly appropriate.
Kevin Leitch's essay on the too short life and tragic death of Katherine "Katie" McCarron.
Dad of Cameron and a message Cameron might have shared with Katie McCarron, had they ever met.
BC: Memorial to a Murdered Autistic Child.
Amanda's letter to Katie McCarron.
Kassiane's letter to Katie and some practical advice for those who are not pleased that justice is rarely served in the case of the murder of autistic children.
Janna Hoskin's commentary on the value and beauty of life.
A wish for Katie from "Shh... Mum is Thinking.
ABFH asks, "How many more children will die because of hate and ignorance?"
Zilari aptly explains the proper use of the word, "devastating."
Not Mercury--valuable perspective from someone who knows what it's like.
"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities."-
Voltaire
This post is part of Katherine McCarron Memorial Day, by the Autism Hub. On Wednesday, May 24, Hub members will post memorial messages about Katherine McCarron. The next day, the hub will be closed in her memory.
Autism Diva
love your children
Katherine McCarron's life ended at 3 years
“You can become obsessed with trying to find a cure for your child,” Patty Floyd said.
Floyd has been providing home therapy for kids with autism for several years, including care for her daughter.
“Now all of a sudden you have to become educated, you have to seek all the treatments necessary and in essence you have to become the doctor, the dietician, the teacher, you never planned on becoming,” Floyd said.
“We are overwhelmed with having these children with these disorders,” Hislope said.
Meanwhile, Karen McCarron had busied herself in an effort to find clues to the puzzle of her daughter's autism
"She read every book. She was trying so hard, pursuing every lead," the friend says.
...
But McCarron became shaken of late when Katherine - despite the clinic treatment - began regressing.
"Her communications more dramatically decreased," the friend says.
The setback only exacerbated Karen McCarron's difficulty in accepting her daughter's condition, her friend says. Unlike coping parents of autistic children, McCarron did not go through a grieving process.
"It's like a death, because a child you had in mind has died," the friend says.
Lately, McCarron sounded increasingly desperate in frequent conversations with her friend.
"She was always crying," the friend says.
From the police report:
"...when the Karen did not respond Paul told officers that the Defendant told him that Katie, who had been diagnosed with autism, had been very "stimmy" and vocalized today and that the Defendant had put a plastic bag over her head to calm her down. That Paul explained the term "stimmy" to mean when an autistic child retreats into their own world. ..."
It would appear that Dr. Karen McCarron was a mercury mom in training, she had reputed "expertise" and it appears that some of this was "biomedical" misinformation gained from talking to the mercury moms and dads, see also here as well as from quacks promoting vaccines as the most significant cause of autism.
Dr. David Ayoub, was said to be a friend of hers. Here is Ayoub on Autism:
“I can state that the certainty of the science supporting mercury as a major cause of autism is probably more overpowering than the science behind any other disease process that I studied dating back to medical school.”
...
When asked why so many scientists were now conducting research Dr. Ayoud said, “I think a disease that effects more individuals than AIDS or cancer, in previously normal infants and children, has created a sense of urgency amongst researchers.”
In his latest newsletter, Ed Aranga, of "Autism One," a big promoter of mercury mythology, implied that the video "Autism Every Day" from Autism Speaks was a possible contributory factor in Karen McCarron's cold blooded decision to murder her child, here he takes a journalist to task:
Case doesn't make sense is the title of the article, by Phil Luciano. The story is about Karen McCarron suffocating her 3-year-old daughter, Katherine, who suffered from autism.
Exactly what about the case doesn’t make sense, Mr. Luciano? As a columnist I realize you are freer to share your personal opinions, than say, a reporter. Still, it is in good journalistic standing to understand the basic issue you are writing about. Start by watching the Autism Every Day film.- Ed Aranga Autism One Newsletter
Mr. Aranga, apparently feels that had the video shown how chelation and other "biomedical" treatments can "cure" autistic children then the mother would have had hope and not killed her child after viewing the film.
Oddly enough, Autism Diva agrees, in part, with Mr. Aranga, it is quite possible that the turning point in Karen McCarron's decision to kill her child may have been seeing the horrifically slanted propaganda produced to raise money for Autism Speaks and a school in New York. In the video Autism Speaks official, Alison Tepper Singer, shares her previous plan to kill herself and her daughter, in the presence of that daughter, and adds that the only reason she didn't commit a murder-suicide is for the sake of the non-autistic daughter. There's no shock or shame expressed by anyone in the video over this recalling of intent to kill on the part of Ms. Singer. The message is: it's ok to think about killing your autistic child, after all they are such hideous beasts. We don't know if Dr. McCarron saw the "Autism Every Day" video, but even if she didn't she was certainly exposed to the unrelenting negativity and warped "hope" offered by the charlatans who sell "cures" for autism.
That unrelenting negativity is, in part, the legal strategy of trial lawyers who will try to present a case of "a generation of children destroyed by thimerosal." In the "Generation Rescue" scenario, everything about autism BAD, BAD, BAD all the time. Someone somewhere is calculating every extra dollar to be had for every time the word, "devastating" is presented in the same sentence with "autism" in a newspaper, and every extra hundred dollars to be had for every quack who will claim somewhere at a conference, or on the internet, to have "recovered" a child by "removing" "mercury" from the child's brain.
Autistic adults have been specifically trying to counteract that unrelenting negativity, and for their trouble have been attacked viciously by the likes of "Schafer Autism" Report editor, Lenny Schafer and Generation Rescue demigod, JB Handley.
"Autism Every Day" was shown at a big to-do in New York. See how happy the Autism Speaks gang were to share their dismal, devastated, denigrating, despicable view of autism with their wealthy friends?
Katie McCarron was murdered by her mother on the day before Mother's day. The next day, in another part of the country, for some unthinkable purpose, Nicolaas and Agnes Degroot locked their 19 year old autistic son, Christopher, in their apartment, but not before setting a fire in the living room.
The fire happened on Mothers Day, Sunday, May 14th. At the time, police say Nicolaas and Agnes Degroot's developmentally disabled son was home alone locked inside.More here
Once firefigthers arrived on scene last week, residents told them there was someone inside. Rescue crews were able to contain the fire, which started in the living room, and airlifted 19 year old Christopher Degroot to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland.
"In our investigation, we determined that nothing accidental happened. No candle fell over, no electrical problems. Nobody left the pot on the stove, so then it becomes suspicious in nature and the police get involved," says Wanda Omdahl.
On Friday evening, Albany Police arrested Nicolaas and Agnes Degroot on first degree arson and manslaughter in the second degree charges. They are now held in the Linn County Jail.
Christopher Degroot was treated at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital. He died on Friday afternoon from injuries sustained in the fire.
"Killing children who have disabilities is basically no different from killing other children," says Professor Richard Sobsey. "Society has constructed a myth that says it's OK, or at least not really too bad, to kill these children."
Please, please read Ballastexistenz' discussion of the kind of society and the thinking of the kind of society that produces murderers of the kind that killed Christopher Degroot and Katie McCarron. Few people take the time to analyze the long term ramifications of individual and cultural attitudes and actions. Besides individual responsibilty for murder there is community responsibilty for murder. It's not the kind of thing that courts can deal with so it's widely ignored, at least within this culture. Think about the meaning of "Ballastexistenz." It's a word used by Nazi's to dehumanize the lives of disabled people who were in line to be "mercy" killed for their being burdens on themselves as well as on the Third Reich.
More recommended reading, in no particular order:
A blog entry from Huff's Crime Blog regarding the murder of Katie McCarron. It is surprisingly appropriate.
Kevin Leitch's essay on the too short life and tragic death of Katherine "Katie" McCarron.
Dad of Cameron and a message Cameron might have shared with Katie McCarron, had they ever met.
BC: Memorial to a Murdered Autistic Child.
Amanda's letter to Katie McCarron.
Kassiane's letter to Katie and some practical advice for those who are not pleased that justice is rarely served in the case of the murder of autistic children.
Janna Hoskin's commentary on the value and beauty of life.
A wish for Katie from "Shh... Mum is Thinking.
ABFH asks, "How many more children will die because of hate and ignorance?"
Zilari aptly explains the proper use of the word, "devastating."
Not Mercury--valuable perspective from someone who knows what it's like.
Voltaire
This post is part of Katherine McCarron Memorial Day, by the Autism Hub. On Wednesday, May 24, Hub members will post memorial messages about Katherine McCarron. The next day, the hub will be closed in her memory.
Autism Diva
love your children
posted by Autism Diva at 1:47 PM
11 Comments:
Katie McCarron was not some kind of Hollywood creation, an imagined autistic monster, she was a little girl who told her family that she loved them in her actions and through words.
----------
'This was not about autism'
"...
He says the elder McCarrons were glad to help Katherine during her 20 months in North Carolina.
"This was our first granddaughter," says Michael McCarron, who'd already had grandsons. "Autism or not, you don't get any more special than that."
The effects of autism range from slight to severe. Its many manifestations most commonly include difficulty in communication, diminished social interaction and resistance to change.
For Katherine, communication was the biggest problem, Michael McCarron says. She could babble words and phrases - such as "I love you" when he held her - but did not have the verbal skills of a typical girl her age.
"An autistic child is a handful," Michael McCarron says. "They are very difficult to train."
Katherine also had difficulty concentrating. And she often would refuse to go to bed at night, preferring instead to stay up late playing with her toys, often her plastic farm animals.
However, unlike many autistic children, she did not frequently act up, he says. She usually followed a daily routine aimed at improving her communication.
In the morning, her grandmother would feed and dress her. By 9 a.m., she'd get Katherine to school, where the girl worked on communication and cognitive skills. At noon, her grandmother would pick up the girl and return home for lunch, maybe even a nap.
Later, the grandmother would drive the girl to another school for further autism treatment. In mid-afternoon, the grandmother would bring her home, where Katherine would work with a tutor.
At 5 p.m., her father would get home from his job.
"That was big party time," Michael McCarron says.
After the trio would eat dinner, father and daughter often would go for a walk. Back at home, they'd play word games intended to help Katherine's development.
Karen McCarron sometimes would fly to North Carolina to visit her husband and daughter. When finances allowed it, Michael McCarron - the manager of an insurance company - would fly down.
He says Katherine loved nothing more than to be outside, so they'd often head to a nearby park.
"I had wonderful times," he says. "She loved the swing and the motion and the wind. I held my hand (out) and she'd come to it, and she would shriek with delight."
..."
What's bothering me is that I can't find a picture of the little girl. I want it for the article in my Livejournal.
There are articles on Google's news search -- a few -- but none contain the child's picture.
Meanwhile, have you seen this?
KTJ
inasha,
Autism Diva hasn't seen a photo of the little girl. Maybe her family doesn't want to share it. Autism Diva would like to see her picture, too. It would be nice to attach a face to the life, the loss of which we have been mourning.
Autism Diva would like to see pictures of all the murdered autistic children and adults.
Of course she "regressed", if by that is meant she became anxious or frustrated. She was taken out of school and away from her grandparents! Some autistic people need routine and schedule and get very anxious with changes.
If she actually did "regress" (that is, behave in a way that made her mother uncomfortable) it was likely a combination of the withdrawal from school, the change of residence, and her mother's attitude overall, which has led her father to seek divorce for extreme mental cruelty.
And for the record, may I state that if I see one more article referring to "she withdrew into her own autistic world", or to autistics as "in their own world" at all, I will spontaneously combust.
A. Temple
Each day I drop to my knees and thank God Almighty that I am not stupid.
These people are so blinded by their own self pity that they will murder their own offspring.
There must be a special place in Hell for these folks.
I'm sorry, but it sounds like she was functioning pretty well to me. This has less to do with autism in the child and more to do with mental deficiencies in the mother.
Here are two comments from people who apparently knew Katie in North Carolina, they are from Kevin's blog entry "Katherine 'Katie' McCarron."
--------
Victoria :
She loved to be held… she loved Veggie Tales… she smiled the biggest toothy grin and had pet names for certain people… She was called “Baby Katie”... Her tiny physical presence was a force with which to be reckoned… and her absence is now a devastation not likely to ever diminish…
Thank you for your outrage… She is loved in North Carolina and missed with a passion that no words will comprehend!
---
withheld :
Katie was a beatiful child that loved the hokie pokie and songs about pickles on her pizza. She had a huge fan base and pleny of hugs in NC. Her father wanted nothing but the best for her. We will miss her more than words can express.
-------
Karen McCarron is looking less "in pain" and more purely evil all the time.
The poor grandfather - from his description of his much beloved Katie, he was really devastated - the poor guy.
on a different note...
please compare these two mug shots.
JB #1
JB #2
Just as a matter of interest, Illinois doesn't have an "irreconcilable differences" clause in the divorce statutes. You have to actually charge the other person with something.
The phrase "That without cause or provocation on the part of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has been guilty of extreme and repeated mental cruelty towards the Plaintiff" doesn't really mean anything other than "I want to divorce this person and can't charge them with adultery".
I know this only because I lived in Illinois long enough to get divorced there. It's only legalese. I'm sure he'll get the divorce (if she's in jail she won't be able to even show up in court to contest), and I'd bet that at this point in time he can't stand the sight of her, and I certainly consider murdering a beloved child (beloved to her father and grandparents, anyway) to be cruelty to all parties concerned.
At first I had some vague sense of at least understanding for the mother, as everyone has their "breaking point" and maybe she just reached hers and did something stupid, but the more I read about the case, the more I think this was just a woman who couldn't stand having an imperfect child.
Better dead than autistic, isn't that the sentiment?
Let's see if this gets the same level of scrutiny on your blog or is the fact that Katie McCarron's murderer furthers your agenda and is just as much a motivator as the tragedy itself?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071400502.html?nav=rss_business/localbusiness
I'm very sorry this happens, but it goes to the fact that every sector of society feels the stress when you have to deal with the pressures of raising an autistic child...
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