Insider reports that YouTuber Myka Stauffer has received criticism for giving away her adopted autistic son with whom she made years of monetized content with.
Stauffer, who is described as a “parenting and lifestyle YouTuber”, has over 700,000 subscribers.
Her son, Huxley, was adopted from China in 2017. Stauffer documented her fundraising journey and adoption process through her channel.
The YouTuber then continued to update her viewers about her son’s adjustment to life in America.
On Tuesday, Stauffer announced that she and her husband had now given Huxley away to a new family after realising he had autism.
The couple also have four other children.
In a video titled An update on our family, Stauffer said, “this is by far the hardest video James and I have ever publicly had to make,” Myka Stauffer said.
“With international adoption, sometimes there’s unknowns and things that are not transparent on files and things like that,” James Stauffer said.
He went on to say that the couple were unaware of the severity of Huxley’s condition.
“Once Huxley came home, there was a lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of and that we were not told,” Stauffer said.
“After multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit and that his medical needs — he needed more,” a tearful Myka Stauffer said.
“Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500%,” she continued.
Stauffer then expressed how difficult it was being at the receiving end of critics.
“So when you get, like, insidious, hurtful comments, it just, like, really makes it hurt worse,” Stauffer said.
“It’s not about me at all, but it’s just, like, this journey has been — the last couple months have been, like, the hardest thing I could have ever imagined.”
Stauffer reassured her viewers that the new family was “literally the perfect match.”
“[Huxley] is thriving. He is very happy. He’s doing really well. And his new mommy has medical-professional training, and it is a very good fit,” Stauffer said.
Some fans commended the Stauffers for their efforts.
“I respect you so much for having the courage to make such a heartbreaking and hard decision,” one commenter wrote.
“You are such great parents, you have to do what’s right for him first and foremost.”
However, some were less impressed by the Stauffers and their video.
“Extremely depressed reading about the influencer who raised funds to adopt a son, made this her “brand,” discovered he has special needs, secretly rehomed him, blocked ppl asking about him (after her followers helped fund the adoption) & put out a video making herself the victim,” wrote one Twitter user.
Extremely depressed reading about the influencer who raised funds to adopt a son, made this her “brand,” discovered he has special needs, secretly rehomed him, blocked ppl asking about him (after her followers helped fund the adoption) & put out a video making herself the victim https://t.co/ekgeTWBpm5
— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss) May 27, 2020
