YouTube influencer Myka Stauffer is facing a vicious backlash after she “rehomed” her autistic son three years after adopting him from China.
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The social media star, 32, and her husband James became parents to Huxley, now four, in 2017 – adopting him when he was two and a half years old.
However, they’ve now posted a video on her YouTube channel admitted they have decided to give him up after discovering he had “a lot more special needs that we were not aware of”.
In the tearful video, Myka confessed: “Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like 500 per cent.”
She revealed an agency has placed Huxley with his “his new forever family”, adding: “They found someone who is the best fit.
“He’s thriving, he’s doing really well, and his new mommy has medical, professional training. And is a very good fit”
In the video, James praised Myka for doing her best to help Huxley.
He said: “I can’t say how hard Myka has tried throughout this entire journey and how much effort put in through enough how much effort…
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“With international adoption sometimes there are unknowns and things that are not transparent on files and once Huxley came home there were a lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of and not told.
Myka added: “Over the last year he’s been in a more intense therapy to try to help him…
“We never wanted to be in this position, we wanted to get his needs met and to help him out as much as possible. We truly love him…
“After multiple assessments and evaluations, medical profession felt he needed a different fit for his medical needs. He needed more.”
She concluded by saying: “We are going to be heartbroken for a very long time.
Myka said they had not shared most of the “struggles” they had with Huxley they wanted to respect his “privacy”.
Despite pleas to her followers to be kind, the couple have been bombarded with messages criticising their decision to give the little boy up – with some accusing her of using the adoption to boost her YouTube numbers.
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One tweeted: “Myka Stauffer proved herself the ultimate Karen when she crowdfunded an adoption of 2yo with Autism from China, exploited him and his meltdowns for praise on YT, and then rehomed him like an unwanted pet once she had another bio kid.”
Another wrote: “Myka Stauffer really just gave her kid away bc adoption wasn’t a dreamy aesthetic journey like she thought it’d be these ig moms are another level of gross. that poor sweet little boy.”
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A third accused her of having a “white saviour complex”, writing: “Idk who needs to hear this (jk I do, it’s @MykaStauffer ) children of colour are not put on earth to fuel your white saviour complex.
“They’re not pets you should just “rehome” when it gets too hard to raise them…”
After bringing him home, Myka later opened up about her son’s struggles, explaining they weren’t told the full extent of his needs.
She said his file was “inaccurate” adding that doctors revealed Huxley had “a stroke in utero, has level 3 autism, and sensory processing disorder.”
Myka documented her entire adoption journey on YouTube, making Huxley’s journey a key theme on her channel from even before they brought him home.
She even used crowdfunding to help raise money for the adoption, asking fans to donate $5 and at the end they would be treated to the first photo of Huxley.
She’s even become an advocate for international adoption, blogging about her family life to her 717,000 subscribers, while the family’s channel, The Stauffer Life, has 332,000.
Myka has a daughter from a previous relationship, as well as another girl and two sons with James.
She blogged about her pregnancies and even the births on her channel before turning the focus to their journey to international adoption.
Huxley disappeared from her Instagram page in March and she hinted at the at-home turmoil in a cryptic message.
She wrote: “Last month was the hardest month I have ever had as a mama.
“And I’m still working through all of it. But instead of leading with my heart, I’m following yours.
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