The needless suffering continues as cases of autism are neither prevented, properly treated or sufficiently supported, and some caregivers turn to the worst possible choice to allieviate their struggle. Murder-suicide.
“He said Robert didn’t know his own strength, and his mother was finding it increasingly difficult to take him outside. Watson, who is 5-foot-11 and weighs 240 pounds, said Robert was taller and outweighed him by about 30 pounds.
In early March, while riding with Angie in her pickup truck, Robert smashed his head through the rear window. He got worse in the following weeks. After another episode his mother took him to a hospital, where he was fed a steady stream of Ativan pills for two hours until he was sedated, the family said.
She and Robert were released, taking home about a month’s supply of Ativan — several hundred pills, according to the family. Robinson told her family she realized after the incident at the hospital that “she had lost Robert” and couldn’t care for him anymore.
Ron Watson said he and Angie Robinson went together to a Family Services office in late March, pleading for help. Robinson spoke with a social worker and asked for a long-term placement for Robert. According to the family, on or around April 2, she was informed a residential placement for Robert wasn’t possible.”
Read the full story here: National Post