The YouTuber who received backlash for 'rehoming' her adoptive son with autism said he 'wanted this decision 100%'

ldodgson@businessinsider.com (Lindsay Dodgson)

May 31, 2020 at 8:37 AM·4 min read

Myka Stauffer Huxley — Myka Stauffer and Huxley.

YouTuber Myka Stauffer has responded to criticism over having her adoptive son, Huxley, placed in a new home.
Stauffer and her husband James explained the situation in a video last week where they said they weren't the right family to suit Huxley's medical needs.
The couple, who are popular parenting YouTubers, faced a backlash for their lack of transparency over what happened.
Stauffer responded in the comments, saying Huxley, who is four years old, "wanted this decision 100%." It has now been deleted.
She also said there had been scary incidents inside the home with her other children and they had no other choice but to find him a new family, according to US Magazine.
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YouTuber Myka Stauffer has responded to the backlash she and her husband James received when they announced their adoptive son, Huxley, was placed in a new home.

The couple received huge criticism on social media after they posted their video, called "an update on our family," on Tuesday. They said Huxley had gone to live with another family better equipped to deal with his medical needs, including his autism. They said he was happy and doing well, and the new home was "a really good fit."

People reacted with mixed emotions in the comments below. Some said they were heartbroken for Huxley and the Stauffer family, while others labeled the decision as unethical and selfish.

Stauffer, 32, responded in the comments under her video explaining the situation, according to US Magazine.

The original comment has been deleted, but screenshots show she said they would "never just give up" a child with special needs, and this was "a personal matter" that had nothing to do with Huxley's autism.

"Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children, and if these events happened with one of my biological kids, after all the help and after the behaviors we witnessed sadly we would have no other choice then to seek help and get their needs met," she wrote.

The couple, from Columbus, Ohio, has four other children under eight years old: Kova, Jaka, Radley, and Onyx.

Stauffer continued, suggesting that Huxley, aged four years old, was happy with the decision to be rehomed.

"Huxley wanted this decision 100%," she said. "We saw that in family time with other people, he constantly chose them and signed with and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this. Huxley never had a say in his adoption, and he needed more help and also wanted this and we know that 100%."

However, not everyone is convinced Huxley would have been so happy about it. Some have shared Stauffer's comment with further criticism about their decision.

"Myka Stauffer — when I was a child I liked the attention of friends and family when they came over, but my parents didn't take that as a sign that I didn't want to live with them anymore," one viewer tweeted. "You gave up your special needs son because he didn't fit your aesthetic."

"Oh yes," said another. "Non verbal Huxley told you, 'I don't want to live with you guys no more send me to these strangers so that I can be traumatized even more in my little life.'"

The couple has remained quiet on social media since posting the video, and neither has publicly spoken about Huxley other than the one deleted comment. Instead, they issued a statement through lawyers, which said they would "share more when the time is appropriate for all involved."