Sharyl Attkisson Asks Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis - Award Winning Autism Medical Failure Documentary
Note: Reserve your tickets for the Westbury, NY screening of Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis on November 12 HERE.
Many of you will remember the horrifying case of Alex Spourdalakis, a teen with autism who was held in restraints in a Chicago hospital with precious little medical care. And whose mother and caretaker, in a moment most of us can never fathom, murdered him brutally upon his release.
There is a documentary about the tragedy of lack of medical care, parental/caretaker exhaustion and autism called "Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis." The documentary won New York City Oktoberfest Film Festival.
It is a tough story to tell - to read - to watch. It was disconcerting to watch the process unfold. So many reached out to help. To no avail. Alex is neither the first nor the last person with autism to meet a terrible death. His mother is not the first or the last to commit a murder that is anathema to our maternal and paternal souls.
Thank you to Sharyl Attkisson for keeping Alex's memory alive. I receive frequent emails from parents with nowhere to turn, no one to help as their sons (and daughters) grow older, strong, sicker and their behavior becomes more dangerous and difficult to manage. There is no system in place for our aging children. The future is bleak - unless we take a hard look at the worst case scenarios - like Alex Spourdalakis' death. Like Sky Walker who bludgeoned his mother to death many years ago.
There are screenings across the country. In order to ensure a screening - each venue needs ticket sales. Please buy a ticket. Bring a family member. Bring your pediatrician. Your Neurologist. Your teachers. We need to expose the dark underside of autism - of a lack of medical care for our kids - a system stacked against us, and the sometimes even the worst possible crash and burn of Mom and/or Dad.
From Sharyl's website:
Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis
In August of 2013, I reported on the tragic case of Alex Spourdalakis: a teen who had autism and severe gut-related health issues. His mother and Alex’s caretaker suffered extreme distress after finding themselves unable to care for him and unable to get proper help. Together, they stabbed him to death and attempted their own suicides.
What makes this horrible story more compelling is the fact that prior to Alex’s death, the Autism Media Channel had followed the family’s travails for a documentary. The resulting film provides an extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented look at the stresses faced by some families of autistic children and the shortfalls in the system that is, sometimes, ill-equipped to help.
Recently, the film won Best Documentary at the New York City Oktoberfest Film Festival.
there are many other Alex Spourdalakis stories out there. Parents quietly suffering trying to help there kids who are experiencing horrible side effects from drugs like Tardive Dyskensia, hallucinations,. Some stories are posted on youtube.
here is Alex Yates story. According to his parents Alex "Came off risperidone in May 2011 after being on it for 5 years and started to have hallucinations and tics".
Very sad. poor boy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwpjL6giF-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QtK0MvCT_c&list=UU9wQgXepG0VZqjcflUjm46A
Posted by: Autism mom | October 29, 2014 at 11:37 AM
We need more films like this. We need Hollywood to make a film about Angie Robinson and her son, Robert, from Canada. It is tragic how many organizations we have and how billions are spent on autism research while there are people suffering right now, real time who need help. There is no more room for "discussing" autism until we are blue in the face. We must act now to bring more services and supports and release funding to provide all this instead of being stopped by the recurrent nonsense lies of "budget crisis."
Posted by: Tom | October 29, 2014 at 02:56 AM