A Dutch boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety, mood disorders, depression, and suicidal ideation was euthanised in 2023 because he requested it.
He had been diagnosed 4.5 years earlier and he described his life as ‘joyless’, marked by ‘loneliness’, ‘overstimulation’, ’emotional struggles’ and being mostly ‘homebound.’
Doctors did, however, demonstrate his competence, and the matter was approved by the Regional Euthanasia Review Committee. They detailed their report in 2024, but it has since fueled debate on psychiatric euthanasia for young people.
However, what comes to mind is this: how did it get this bad? Where was the help?
The issue was that his everyday struggles regrettably overwhelmed him, and his thoughts prevented him from finding serenity while he was still living.
Non-neurotypical people need to be educated about autism because they need to understand them.
The majority of people with autism cannot flirt because it’s subtle. It would be like forcing a blind person to see or a deaf person to hear.
They don’t think the same way as we do in the usual way. You need to literally be honest and direct with them. And don’t bother playing mental games with them because you will always lose. Just say things as they are because Autism and vagueness do not mix well; they hate it. If you need them to do a task, explain it in detail, and don’t get angry because they didn’t do something exactly how you wanted them to do it, because if you were being too vague about it, it’s not their fault, it’s yours.
The body language of an Autistic person is often mistaken for that of a psychopath or a creep, but what you may consider creepy behaviour is not at all creepy to them because they don’t think the same way as we do.
They don’t have a lack of empathy; they just have trouble expressing it, and they don’t want to pretend that they are feeling emotion when they’re not. Just because they’re not bursting into tears over something doesn’t mean they’re not upset, and just because they’re not making eye contact doesn’t mean they’re not interested.
Eye contact makes them feel very uncomfortable, especially for long periods of time. Just learn to accept that they won’t make eye contact with you most of the time.
If you wonder why people on the Autistic Spectrum tend to be introverted, it’s because they suffer from sensory overloads. This is why going outside can be a massive challenge for them, and a number of them wear headphones to drown out the background noise so that they can cope a little better. It doesn’t cost any money to understand them, just some of your time.
An Autistic person deciding to euthanise themselves is a very big thing, and unless you have this condition, you have no idea what they are suffering, but of course, mental illness is not treated on an equal footing.
This person felt that he was already dead, so he believed that euthanising himself would be the better option because there was no more consciousness left to regret, and it was a win-win situation regardless of anyone’s viewpoint.
There should have been people to help him, but even so, it would have been a very hard road, even if he’d had the help and medications. There has to be motivation, so I can understand his choice, and I’m grateful that he was allowed to make that choice.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 