The following is a story I found on Facebook. I have friends with autistic children and follow with all of the charity work and fund raisers I do I meet a lot of families with autistic children. This is hard for me to swallow. I can't imagine anyone thinking these things, much less a mother. 😦 Sad. Just sad.
It makes me angry….so very angry.
I am going to post the story directly from the news site and I'll post a picture of the letter.
***IMPORTANT*** If you are directly close to an autistic child – this letter will be hard to read – and it will probably make you angry – and maybe even cry (if you are sensitive like me). I'll try to follow this story and let you know if anything every comes of it. The police did open an investigation and I hope they find this woman….
Story following:
The Crown Attorney's Office in Ontario says a letter asking the family of a boy with autism to move or euthanize him falls below the threshold for a hate crime, despite the hateful language, Durham Regional Police Service said in a release Tuesday
However, police will consider whether the letter violates other sections of the Criminal Code.
A criminal investigation is currently underway after the Newcastle, Ont., family of a 13-year-old boy who has autism received an anonymous letter telling them to either leave the neighbourhood or have the boy euthanized.
The boy's grandmother, Brenda Millson, said she was shocked when she read the letter, which arrived in her mailbox on Friday.
The author of the typed one-page letter claimed to be a mother who lived in the neighbourhood and was upset at the noises Millson's grandson Max made when he was outside.
The letter went on to say the boy's “noise polluting whaling (sic),” scared the author's “normal children”.
It also included statements such as “he is a hindrance to everyone and will always be that way” and “do the right thing and move or euthanize him.”
Millson said she immediately reported the letter to police.
She said Max lives with his parents and older brother in Oshawa, Ont., but he had been visiting her home in Newcastle.
She said the author of the letter may have assumed she is Max's mother.
“At first I couldn't believe what I was reading,” she said, adding that she was shaking in disbelief.
“It's just so sick.”
Durham regional police said they have been investigating since Friday and that they are taking the letter seriously.
Max's mother, Karla Begley, 44, who is in a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis, said police told her they had never seen a letter “that despicable.”
Speaking on CBC's Power and Politics, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said she was “in tears” when she read about the contents of the letter.
“I just think it is horrific,” she told CBC's Evan Solomon.
“There is no place in society for this kind of attitude.”
Wynne urged the author of the letter to reflect on the inclusive nature of Canadian society and realize that Canada is a country that accommodates many different types of people.
“Part of our strength is that we can provide for everybody, and diversity is part of what defines us,” she said.
The only hostility the family had sensed in the Newcastle neighbourhood was four years ago, she said.
At the time, Max loved to throw a ball in the backyard and as he often threw it over fences, Millson had written her name and address on it, Begley said.
One day it arrived in the yard tattered, she said. “They took the time to shred the ball with scissors and throw it back over.”
Begley added the family did not know what yard the ball was thrown into.
Millson said Max is a wonderful, sweet and lovable boy with a 16-year-old brother who was “infuriated” and “disgusted” by the letter.
Millson said the letter is “pretty gutless.”
On Sunday night, at least 120 people waited outside the home for more than an hour in order show their support, Begley said. Families with autistic children drove in from Oshawa to show their support.
“Max was high-fiving everyone. He didn't understand but knew it was for him,” Millson said.
Begley said support for the family following the letter has been “bittersweet,” adding it's too bad it took such a letter to bring attention to a special-needs child.
“It's just a reminder, you know, you've got to treat these kids like they need to be treated,” Begley said. “They just want to belong.”
Anyone with any new information regarding the investigation is asked to contact Const. Thompson of the East Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 1604.
Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or at http://www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca.
So….that's the story….
Please post your thoughts below and share/re-blog to get the word out! Especially if you have connections in Ontario.
PS…BIG hugs to Max, his mom & his grandma…all the way from Texas. ❤
WahmCat 
Wow, how hateful people can be. So sad to think someone that backward might live next door to you!
I know it. Breaks my heart. 😦
I’ve heard that it can’t be classified as a hate crime and I so wish it could be!! Just broke my heart to read that.
I know!! At first I thought, how can that not be a hate crime?!! But since there was no assault I guess it doesn’t qualify? It just doesn’t seem fair. 😦
When I read this for the first time, I was appalled! Retreading it just makes me sicker. It’s sad that people go to these extremes…but I’d like to think they are in the minority…idiots!!
I definitely agree they are in the minority….but 1 is 1 too many. 😦 just absolutely breaks my heart. I just hope this was someone being mean and not really a mother.
My brother has autusim and people think hes weird. But they don’t get it, that he’s different. I hate how so many people don’t even give him a chance. But sadly what can you do about it?
Just love him. And support him. And punch them in the face.
Just kidding about the punching part. 😉 He is lucky to have you as sister. Just keep loving him, supporting him and sharing awareness about autism. The more people understand the better.
It just sucks because I see people say mean things about him. We’re twins so were in the same grade and I am even right next to people who say things about him. I am really shy and I don’t really talk so I just watch and it really upsets me. They even ask me if he’s gay. But he’s not. At least he doesn’t care. Thanks for replying back to me and tell me some tips. It helps out a lot. Thanks 🙂
Aww, your so welcome. I promise you, the absolute BEST thing you can do for him is to be strong!! And it’s ok to have a voice!! Maybe you could talk to the counselor about doing an autism awareness event in your school!! Get people involved!! You can make a difference!
OMG that woman’s “normal” children will be anything but once she is done raising them with that sort o attitude. I hope they find her so much. So awful 😦
I know. 😒 That’s exactly what I was thinking.
From Georgia, this letter circulated where I work. Mostly Mother’s. It’s unbelievable a real Mother would be so cruel unless she’s possessed by the deal! However, be it a Mother or a cruel act by another young kid who hasn’t been raised to respect and love all mankind, this should be taken seriously. Someone who thinks like this letter is written they’re a time bomb waiting to happen. Obviously no compassion for others or conscious, which leads me to believe they live with a lost soul and gets kicks out of hurting others. Ontario this letter is a wake up call before the responsible person takes this further. Not toward the boy necessarily but someone is very angry and full of HATE!
To this family, my heart hurts knowing you have to endure such pain. Prayers with you all.
Well said Wendy. Well said.
that letter must be one of the worst i have ever read in my life. it has the attitude of hitler. without exaggeration. to not call that a hate crime is dumb. its the crime of hate. words are weapons and that letter is nuclear.
we have one consolation. the woman who wrote it , is a cretin.
that is, the worst kind of mental emotional retardation known to man.