Chicago Tribune news: Daughter's murder puts focus on toll of autism

The strains of parenting a special needs child go much deeper than most people realize. It is almost impossible to find qualified help in order to give the parents a break. It is often all-consuming of time, energy and patience. There is no way to condone what the mother did in Morton, Illinois. There are definitely mitigating factors, though, that explain the stresses that parents of special needs children are under and the overall lack of support and understanding that they deal with in trying to help their own children.

I think most people who are dealing with children with autism or autistic-type conditions have felt the stress, strain and despair of feeling as if there is little hope in coping with a child whose brain does not process social cues, does not reason, and has self-destructive or oppositional tendencies and behavior.

There is no need to jump on the advocate bandwagon and hitch a cause to the trauma of a little girl's death at the hands of her mother. There is a great need, however, for people to realize that there are thousands of mothers, fathers, siblings, and other family members who are struggling daily just to keep our own sanity.


By Meg McSherry Breslin
Tribune staff reporter

June 9, 2006

MORTON, Ill. -- For several weeks, Karen McCarron had been making teary phone calls, despairing over her 3-year-old autistic daughter's future.

Unable to get Katie to settle down for a nap on a Saturday afternoon, McCarron took her for a drive. Police say the respected Peoria-area physician and advocate for autistic children parked, put a plastic bag over the little girl's head and smothered her to death in about two minutes.

McCarron, 37, is alleged to have confessed to the crime a day later--Mother's Day--telling police she 'just wanted to end her pain and Katie's pain.' On Thursday afternoon in a Pekin courtroom, McCarron bowed her head and remained silent as her lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on first-degree murder charges.

In the last month, Katie's death has sparked a heated discussion among advocates for Illinois' disabled. Many argue that the tragedy demonstrates just how underserved the rapidly growing community of autistic families is.

'Whatever comes out of the McCarron case, it is already clear that many, many people in our community have seen something of themselves in it,' said Christopher Kennedy, legislative director for the Autism Society of Illinois and the parent of an autistic child. Concerned parents 'have communicated the feelings of despair and isolation so many of us have felt at different times in our lives with autism. ... We cannot ignore the bigger picture and the context within which this and other such acts occur.'

Yet others complain that some are exploiting Katie's death to further their agenda of expanding funding for autistic "

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