YouTuber Myka Stauffer and her husband James have announced their adopted son Huxley has been placed in a new home nearly three years after he was adopted from China.
In a new YouTube video titled: “An update on our family” the couple, from Columbus, Ohio, explained that Huxley, who has autism, had a “lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of”.
“International adoption, sometimes there’s unknowns and things that are not transparent on file,” James said in the video. “And once Huxley came home there was a lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of and that we were not told.”
According to the couple, who adopted Huxley in 2017 and who also have four biological children, they have seen numerous medical professionals regarding their four-year-old son’s “severe needs”.
“For us it’s been really hard hearing from the medical professionals a lot of their feedback and things that have been upsetting,” James continued. “We’ve never wanted to be in this position. And we’ve been trying to get his needs met and help him out as much as possible… We truly love him.”
“There’s not an ounce of our body that doesn’t love Huxley with all of our being,” Myka continued, adding: “After multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit in his medical needs, he needed more.”
“Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 per cent,” Myka said, before explaining that Huxley has since found a “new forever family” with the help of the adoption agency.
“They found somebody that they felt would be ultimately the best fit and he is thriving, he is very happy, he is doing very well and his new mommy has medical professional training and it is a very good fit,” Myka said.
The parenting blogger, who has more than 168,000 followers on Instagram, also acknowledged her decision to share the family’s choice with her followers, explaining that she knows “deep down inside that I don’t have to say anything… but I want to. I want to tell you”.
“You guys have been there for us for so much and I want to fill you in on what’s going on.”
She did, however, ask their followers and subscribers to honour their privacy, and said they wouldn’t be going into further detail about their decision for Huxley’s privacy.
On Twitter, Myka has updated her bio to read: “Subscribe and follow my life with four kids through motherhood.”
The Stauffers first discussed their decision to adopt on their social media accounts in July 2016, when they shared a YouTube video titled: “BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! BABY #4.”
The YouTuber then produced 27 videos related to her “adoption journey,” according to BuzzFeed, before sharing a video titled: “Huxley’s EMOTIONAL Adoption VIDEO!! GOTCHA DAY China Adoption,” in October 2017, which has been viewed more than 5.5m times.
In a video titled: “Emotional China Adoption Update Two Years Home,” uploaded in September 2019, the parenting blogger said Huxley had been in applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy since his autism diagnosis and was “doing so well”.
In February, Myka shared a photo of her holding Huxley with the caption: “The last couple days have been hard. I don’t want to sugar coat anything” and “I wish autism and adoption trauma had a manual to direct you through it all.”
The last photo posted on Myka’s Instagram of Huxley was on 28 March, where 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!”
On social media, the family’s announcement that Huxley had been placed in a new home sparked criticism, with many of Myka’s followers expressing their disappointment.
“I’m so disgusted. @MykaStauffer used Huxley’s adoption for clicks, likes and praise and when life got tough she gave him up. Poor sweet baby abandoned not once but twice. Shame on the Stauffers,” one person tweeted.
Another said: “Myka Stauffer really just gave her kid away because 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.”
Others called for the YouTuber to be “cancelled” and called on brands to end sponsorship deals with her.
“I hope Myka Stauffer and her husband have every possible consequence of ‘returning’ their adopted special needs child. Take away their monetisation, strip their sponsorships. The trauma this child will have because of them is immeasurable,” one person tweeted.
A Change.org petition that “demands the Stauffers remove all monetised content ft Huxley from their YouTube channel” has since been signed more than 5,500 times.
The Independent has contacted the Stauffers for comment.
