Famous People with Autism - Katherine “Katie” McCarron - Beautiful, Precious and Happy Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Killed by Mom
Famous People with Autism
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Famous, Infamous, Historical, Celebrity People with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Katherine “Katie” McCarron July 22, 2003 - May 13, 2006 |
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| Katie McCarron (d. 2006) was diagnosed with Autism in 2004. Murdered by her mother on May 13, 2006.
“She was a beautiful, precious and happy little girl. Each day she was showered with love and returned that love with hugs, kisses and laughter. Katie loved music; she would fill in some of the words in children’s songs as my wife would sing along with the CD that would be playing, their own version of “karaoke” . She liked to dance, she loved to do the “hooky poky”. She loved being in among flowers and tall grass. She would say “I like grass”. She enjoyed the zoo and because of all of the drills and flashcards she could identify the animals. Which I thought was pretty amazing for such a young child. She was also the only little child in her non-autistic play group that could identify an octagon. My wife and son had a party for her the day they heard that from the teacher.” ~ Mike McCarron (Katie’s Dad) |
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| WIKIPEDIA …
Karen McCarron is an Illinois physician who has admitted to smothering her autistic daughter Katherine ‘Katie’ McCarron to death. A grand jury indicted her on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of obstructing justice and one count of concealment of a homicidal death. McCarron went to trial on January 7, 2008 and after a week long trial, was convicted of first degree murder, obstruction of justice, and concealing a homicidal death on January 17, 2008. Timeline Karen and Paul McCarron’s first child was Katherine, diagnosed with autism in 2004. In September of that year, Paul and Katie moved to North Carolina to live with her paternal grandmother. This move was made so Katie could attend Mariposa School in Cary, North Carolina, a special school for autistic children. Paul and Katie returned home to Illinois on holidays. Karen, who was a pathologist with the Peoria-Tazewell Pathology Group, stayed in Peoria with their younger daughter Emily, and visited North Carolina occasionally. After 20 months, the family decided to return full-time to Illinois. Paul McCarron took Katie to their home in Illinois on May 3, 2006. On May 7, 2006, Paul returned to North Carolina to fulfill the last three weeks of his work commitment. Katie remained in Illinois under the care of her mother and maternal grandparents, along with her younger sister. On the afternoon of May 13, 2006, Karen allegedly killed Katie by suffocating her in a plastic bag. In the very early hours of Sunday morning, Karen McCarron tried to overdose on over-the-counter medication. Reaction News articles and weblogs have emphasized the difficulties in raising a child with autism, and some suggested that McCarron may have been stressed by lack of support and dealing with Katie’s autism. Katie’s grandfather, Michael McCarron, said:
Some autistics have rallied in favor of a conviction of McCarron and Katie’s death garnered intense scrutiny within the autism rights movement and among disability advocates. Autism Hub held a memorial on May 24 and the disability rights group Not Dead Yet led the charge to reveal the facts of the case. The local media is responding to advocates who criticize them for sympathic reporting towards alleged perpetrators. |
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私の美しい自
I don’t know all of the details of the McCarron family story but I know the details of mine and my daughter’s. I will not judge this murderous mother. The difference between us and them is we have survived thus far. My child was Dx way too late! At 14 yrs., we finally got Asperger Syndrome as the likely cause of all of our hell. I never wanted to kill my child but I certainly would wish that I would die in my sleep so I wouldn’t have to face another day not being able to help her. I would fall asleep fantasizing about my own death. It was comforting. The story of Katie reminds me of the early happy and fun days…”octagon, pentagon, hexagon!” I can still hear my brilliant toddler identifying shapes and words and symbols. She was reading at 18 mos. SO much fun. Then school started and everything changed. Year after year, worse and worse. Zero support. Undereducated educators were a disservice to my brilliant girl. At 15 yrs. when she tried to kill herself (90 pills) people (doctors, counselors, teachers) & family started to realize there was more to her than a lazy, bossy, brat. She’s 21 now. I can’t help but wonder if life isn’t worth it for her. It’s so painful to see her not thriving well. I still get impulses of not wanting to face another day with her. I hold on to that last thread of hope that with maturity she will develop a purpose and find worth in herself. I can’t find services to help her. I dedicate myself to little ones in the Autism Spectrum who are very lucky to have training available at a young age so hopefully they and their families will never have to go thru the hell we have gone thru. Very near hopeless now and waiting for a change in attitude of my brilliant beautiful girl. Her Mother