Did Famous Ohio YouTuber Myka Stauffer Return ‘Unprofitable’ Disabled Son?

Myka Stauffer (an American mommy blogger and famous YouTuber) and her husband are being blasted on social media for choosing to ‘return’ their adoptive son. The Chinese boy in question has an autism spectrum disorder and the parents (who earlier asked their followers for $5k to show pictures of him) claim they can no longer provide him with appropriate care.

Her choice of wording in the explanation is what is bothering most people. She talks about the young child’s “relocation” and how he is now “forever home”. Those are, according to most social media commenters, terms most commonly used in American English when it comes to pets.

I don’t even watch YouTube but that this woman sent her autistic adopted son to be ‘rehomed’ like a goddamn dog after profiting off him genuinely makes me feel sick. She should never be able to adopt again. #MykaStauffer

— Emily (@mayfriendlys) May 29, 2020

Online criticism to her decision was worded in the following manner: ‘You earn money on the back of a child with a disability and then discard him like a dog in a shelter when he’s unprofitable?’

Others accused the couple of “getting rid” of Huxley, the name of the child, after making money from his experiences.

That is the harsh response that Stauffer and her husband are currently receiving.

Stauffer and her husband are so-called ‘mommy bloggers’. These are mothers, couples or singles who document and share their lives with their children (with columns, blogs, photos and / or videos).

The approach is that they want to inspire other parents and moms. Ranging from education tips, to recipes or – say – how you can do yoga with your baby. The majority of them vlog on YouTube and / or post on Instagram. Some also have a blog.

There is also a revenue model behind this kind of content which Ms Stauffer has mastered very well.

The Ohio couple mainly earns their income through advertising their social media posts, or monetizing their videos and updates as it is called in online media. In short: they support their family, with content from their family.

Autism spectrum disorder

Stauffer and her husband adopted baby Huxley in China several years ago.

View this post on Instagram

A white savior always finds a way to center themselves and make it about them. When things don’t go as expected, it becomes all too clear that it was never about the non-white person or people. We can not imagine if this was their biological child born with Autism, that they’d just give up on him and “rehome” him like this. The white savior complex has this sense of ownership of non-white people’s problems but only up until a certain point. If it gets too hard or too messy, they will leave, they will give you back or they will wind up resenting you if you don’t show endless gratitude for their “sacrifice”. . This couple adopted this little boy from China and they knew he had special needs. They raised tons of money to facilitate the adoption and have since profited from monetized videos on Yotube about their “adoption journey”. Recently it became clear that something was up, as the little boy had not been appearing on Myka Stauffer’s social media. She and her husband finally came clean during a deeply unsettling video where they talk about essentially giving the child back or finding another family for him because they couldn’t handle it. One of the most jarring things about this video is how much they make themselves the victims in this situation. . Understand that this is sadly not an isolated incident. It is far too common, especially in international adoption situations, for adoptive parents to “rehome” the children they’ve uprooted from their birth countries. These children might get tossed around the foster care system, placed in a group home or at best, they will be placed with a new family that hopefully won’t betray them in the same way. You want to say you love these children as if they are your own but you can’t give up your own children in this same way, can you? All the more reason we need to be actively working to fight for alternatives to international adoption. This looks like first prioritizing support and strengthening of vulnerable families, giving them a fighting chance to keep their child.

A post shared by NO WHITE SAVIORS (@nowhitesaviors) on May 28, 2020 at 11:36am PDT

In several columns, videos and interviews, Stauffer stated that they were specifically looking for a child with a disability. They said they wanted to give the child with the least chance of adoption a shot at having a good life. That is why they chose Huxley.

Here’s video of Huxley with duct tape on his thumb.
There’s a screenshot going around of this moment, but Myka Stauffer has set the video to private.
It’s still on Chinese social media pic.twitter.com/AmOhg8bUOM

— Josh K. Elliott (@joshkelliott) May 28, 2020

According to Ms. Stauffer, the adoption agency stated that Huxley had a tumor in the womb of his biological mother and that it was at the root of his autism spectrum disorder.

Also read: Kylie Jenner accused of falsifying revenue stream to make Forbes billionaire list

Back at home, the Stauffer couple found that Huxley was suffering from severe autism and also had other behavioral problems to deal with. The adoption process was documented and shared extensively. Even before she first came home to Huxley, the couple made 27 different videos about the adoption process alone, all of which generated income through advertisements.

If he is your “son”, why would you give up on him? Once a child is adopted they are your family, your own child. You sought out an autistic child, only for him to be too “difficult” and send him back. Shame on you @MykaStauffer https://t.co/IXtYI3cw5T

— Janice (@janicerosee98) May 29, 2020

In those vlogs, she also asked her fans and followers for donations “to cover the adoption costs”. Not much later she asked her fans again for donations and at $ 5,000 she would share a photo of the boy, which she did.

@MykaStauffer abusing her adoptive kid , disgusting human being , they wanted youtube money not what is best for the kid i hope Child service will check if they are abusing their others kids too , instabitch couple , I hope we manage to close their youtube channel, ig…. https://t.co/qI89n2OnCl

— ??? (@Mido_Eien) May 29, 2020

Back at home she made several monetized videos with Huxley where she was also sponsored. For example, she partnered with Dreft, makeup brand Glossier, clothing brand Good American and others. In addition, she became an activist and regularly championed, with Huxley on her arm, for international adoption of children with disabilities.

Re homed' is what you do with a pet, not a child. Huxley will be better off without this grasping, abusive couple.

'YouTube star Myka Stauffer has been accused of binding her autistic son's hands with duct tape to stop him sucking his thumb and for using his crowdfunded
1/2

— A.I.M – Autistic Inclusive Meets (@AIMautistic) May 29, 2020

There is also a video in which the child can be seen with ‘duct tape on his hand’ to stop him from sucking his thumb.

Where’s Huxley?

A few months ago, loyal followers and viewers began to notice that Huxley was no longer featured in the content of Stauffer and her husband. Initially, fans asked her about it and the couple simply didn’t answer.

Would love to see you talk about Myka Stauffer rehoming (and possibly abusing: screengrab from a youtube video of her using duct tape as punishment) her adopted son who has austism.

— kbs (@kianasorenson) May 28, 2020

Finally, Stauffer posted a video on Wednesday in which she provided clarity.

The social media reaction since has been extremely negative. As a result content on the couple’s YouTube account The Stauffer Life has been deleted.

“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,” said a journalist on Twitter.