Family & Friends

The bizarre story of the parents who gave away their autistic son

By Amayzine | #!31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:004831#31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:00-10Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202531 12am31am-31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:0010Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam2025312025Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +010000100012amFriday=9#!31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:00Europe\/Amsterdam12#12-12-2025#!31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:004831#\/31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:00-10Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202531#!31Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:00:48 +0100+01:00Europe\/Amsterdam12#

Since the existence of YouTube, vloggers have popped up like mushrooms. You can't think of anything too crazy that someone hasn't decided to keep an online video diary about. From hobbies to workdays, sports routines, and decluttering gurus, families also enjoy filming their lives and sharing them with thousands, and sometimes even millions of followers. One of the families that got in early on this hype was the Stauffer family. Mother Myka and father James captured their entire family life. The kids were, of course, a big part of this, and they also appeared frequently on camera.

A child on demand

After the couple had already brought three children into the world, they decided they wanted to adopt a fourth child. Because they felt the adoption process in America took too long, they decided to adopt from China. In their vlogs, they showed how that was arranged: a website full of photos and bios of different children to choose from. It almost feels like you're getting a child on demand. The couple chooses a cute little boy of about one year old, and they name him Huxley.

And then it gets really bizarre

The family shows every detail of the adoption process in their vlogs, and their thousands of followers live intensely with them. They are ‘the perfect family’, and it seems like they have everything wonderfully in order. ‘What a lucky child, that he will end up with you’, is one of the many comments under their adoption videos. Once Huxley is there, he also appears frequently on camera. The followers are crazy about Huxley, and his adoptive parents are seen as saints. But when Huxley is about four years old, something inexplicable happens: Huxley suddenly stops appearing in the videos, he is no longer talked about, and when fans ask about him in the comments under the videos, those comments are deleted.

At some point, the couple has no choice but to explain

Then the long-awaited video goes online: the couple explains that autism has been diagnosed in Huxley, and that they have therefore rehomed him to another family. Logically, this causes a huge uproar. They simply ‘got rid of’ the child because he couldn't meet their expectations. Overnight, Myka and James turn into monsters in the eyes of their followers, and the consequence is that they get canceled. This bizarre story has now been developed into a three-part docuseries, available on HBO Max. I hope we eventually get to see how Huxley is doing now, and whether he can lead a happy life after everything that has happened to him.

Text: Franska.nl