YouTuber Myka Stauffer whined that her four-year-old autistic son she adopted from China was ‘not returnable’ before rehoming him
In 2020, YouTuber Myka Stauffer and her husband James made headlines around the world for giving up the four-year-old boy they adopted. Chinaalmost three years after they welcomed him into their family.
At the time, the Ohio couple faced extreme backlash after posting a tearful video saying they had decided to “rehome” Huxley, who had been diagnosed with autism, citing the fact that “there are still many were more special needs that we were not aware of. ‘ as their reasoning.
In a YouTube In a video posted before the adoption, she told viewers that “my child cannot be returned” and that they would “love the young person” “regardless of what condition” he came to them in — which led to what happened later became even more shocking.
Now, four years later, the viral scandal is revisited in a new docuseries called An Update on Our Family, which explores the couple’s fall from grace and features clips from Myka’s now-deleted YouTube videos, and dives into the family vlogging industry. .
Here, MailOnline looks at what happened to the Stauffer family after the series premiered yesterday at the Tribeca 2024 Film Festival.
In 2020, YouTuber Myka Stauffer and her husband James made headlines around the world for giving up the four-year-old boy they adopted from China, almost three years after welcoming him into their family.
In a YouTube video posted before the adoption, she told viewers “my child cannot be returned” and that they would “love the child” “regardless of what condition” he came to them in — which led to what later happened became even more shocking.
After announcing their decision to rehome Huxley in May 2020 and the influx of hate that followed, the Stauffers quickly left YouTube and their channel was deleted.
Myka had amassed 717,000 subscribers to her channel over the years, while another 300,000 tuned in to the family’s vlogging channel, ‘The Staffer Life’.
Some of Myka’s most popular videos include: REAL Newborn Morning Routine 2019, What I Eat In A Day To Stay Healthy And Lean, and SURVIVE Quarantine Like a BOSS! BLOOM AND GET YOUR LIFE BACK!
Her sponsorship partners included major companies such as Big Lots, TJ Maxx and Danimals yogurt. Other brands she had worked with to promote their products included Fabletics, Suave and Playtex Baby.
Although all of their YouTube videos have been deleted on both channels, Myka’s Instagram account remains, with the last post being an apology she posted in 2020, writing that she “takes full responsibility for all the pain” she has suffered causes.
Her husband James’ YouTube channel ‘Stauffer Garage’ remains active, but without family content. The channel focuses on car flipping, detailing and cleaning.
Apart from this, the Stauffer couple, who have four biological children, have completely disappeared from the internet – Myka had first started setting up her YouTube channel in 2014.
Between 2016 and 2020, the couple had extensively documented the journey of Huxley’s adoption – from choosing him, to raising money, to the day he arrived.
After announcing their decision to rehome Huxley in May 2020 and the influx of hate that followed, the Stauffers quickly left YouTube and their channel was deleted.
At the time, the Ohio couple faced extreme backlash after posting a tearful video saying they had decided to “rehome” Huxley, who had been diagnosed with autism, citing the fact that “there are still many were more special needs that we were not aware of. ‘ as their reasoning
Myka featured Huxley on her YouTube channel and social media pages until early 2020
Although already popular online, it brought them a new era of success, and their adoption video of Huxley was viewed by more than five million people.
Myka also wrote about Huxley’s adoption and his special needs. In a piece she had written for Procession in September 2020, she said they were surprised when they came home with their adopted son and realized his record was “inaccurate.”
“Our son ended up having a stroke in utero, has level 3 autism and sensory processing disorder,” she wrote. ‘It took a lot of time to process and get used to his new diagnosis.’
She said Huxley received 30 hours of ABA [Applied Behavior Analysis] a week of home therapy and attended a ‘private preschool’ to help with his needs.
‘He’s a great boy and his condition doesn’t require much general care. All you need is a big heart and practicing patience every day,” she said.
Myka featured Huxley on her YouTube channel and social media pages until early 2020.
Moments such as his first Christmas with the family, bonding with his new siblings and family days out were all shared online.
One of Myka’s last photos with her adopted son was posted on February 16, and in the caption she talked about how difficult it can be to care for his special needs.
Although they were already popular online, the adoption brought them a new era of success, and their adoption video of Huxley was viewed by more than five million people.
The backlash was swift, with many critics accusing the couple of adopting Huxley as a stunt to attract viewers
‘We have hard days, a lot of them. I wish autism and adoption trauma had a manual to guide you through it,” she wrote.
After fans wondered for months what happened to Huxley, Myka and James shared a family update on her YouTube channel, saying their adopted son has a new “forever family” better equipped to meet his special needs .
“With international adoption, there are sometimes unknowns and things that are not transparent in the files,” James said. ‘When Huxley came home there were many other special needs that we were not aware of or told about.’
Myka added that an adoption agency had helped Huxley join his ‘forever family’ – he has now also been given a new name.
“He is doing well, doing very well, and his new mother has medical, professional training,” she added.
The backlash was swift, with many critics accusing the couple of adopting Huxley as a stunt to attract viewers.
After facing a barrage of criticism on social media, Myka reportedly responded in the comments, saying Huxley “wanted this decision 100 percent” – but it was deleted shortly afterwards.
She added: ‘Several scary things have happened in the house with our other children, and if these events were to happen to one of my biological children, after all the help and the behavior we witnessed, we would unfortunately have no other choice. then have to seek help and ensure that their needs are met.’
Four years later, the viral scandal is revisited in a new docuseries called An Update on Our Family, which explores the couple’s fall from grace.
In the trailer, other vloggers discuss what happened, including the events leading up to the child’s disappearance from their YouTube channel and how much money YouTubers can make for families by posting about their children online.
The new docuseries, An Update On Our Family, takes its name from the infamous video posted by the Stauffer’s to announce that they had rehomed Huxley.
In the trailer, other vloggers discuss what happened, including the events leading up to the child’s disappearance from their YouTube channel and how much money YouTubers can make for families by posting about their children online.
Its description reads: “Myka and James Stauffer epitomized the 21st century American dream: a happy marriage, beautiful children, and a self-built YouTube vlogging empire.
‘At the center of it all was Huxley, an adorable young boy they adopted from China. Huxley was more than just their star: he was their son. Until one day he didn’t anymore.
‘A provocative three-part series, An Update On Our Family, exposes the hidden, unregulated family vlogging industry.’
An Update on Our Family premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, June 6
