Curious Case of Natalia Grace is insane!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing Natalia was actually ~14yo when the Barnetts adopted her. Precocious puberty seems highly unlikely. She would have been around 17-18 when the Barnetts placed her in the apartment by herself.

I believe the agency in Ukraine lied and the first adoptive parents figured out Natalia's true age. Likely, she has attachment disorder and other mental/personality disorders as well. Combined with her severe dwarfism that causes her to be physically disabled, her mental disorders were probably too much for them to handle. Same with the Barnetts.

Natalia probably is manipulative and has violent thoughts. I believe it's highly likely she's a sociopath. Given her age when she was hospitalized and then living in the Lafayette apartment, it wouldn't surprise me if she was sexually active or exhibiting predatory behavior. Her disorders and behaviors most likely stem from in-utero and childhood trauma, and perhaps genetics.

I surmise the families who adopted her had cases of savior syndrome. At worst, one or both of the Barnetts are narcissists. Circumstances of the adoptions by the two families seem shady. The burden of dealing with a teen with extreme physical and mental disorders became too much for the families. I don't blame any of the adoptive parents for being unable to handle Natalia's issues. I know I couldn't handle it, which is why I would never seek out a child who came from Natalia's background. However, the Barnetts were negligent for placing Natalia in a non-therapeutic environment once they could no longer handle having her in their lives.

The story is very complex, and it's nearly impossible to glean the truth from any of the documentaries or articles about the case. I'm sure the Barnetts have lied repeatedly, and they appear manipulative and destructive, but I imagine there's also some truth in many of their stories and allegations. No doubt, my hypothesis is full of holes, but it's what I'm able to digest.

This makes the most sense but a therapeutic placement would have cost a fortune except if the government paid. I don't get why they didn't hand her over to child welfare.

Both families are shady. The second family took all her benefits and social security check pretty quickly.

The therapeutic placement may not be available even if you have the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm watching this now. I hate everyone in this show except the autistic son. He seems the only normal person in this whole mess.

I really feel for him and his brothers. I wish he had not participated. It was clearly traumatizing for him and in the "hot mike" moment it is clear dad is pushing him to be on the show to support him. I do believe the mom was very abusive to Natalia based on what the son's comments. His comments about being overwhelmed by who was lying and what his parents motivations were was heart breaking.

[Anonymous]

I feel like they rejected her when they saw she had pubic hair. This is so crazy. Many kids with special needs and disabilities have delayed and/or precocious puberty. Among my daughter's friends I've seen 4 year olds with pubic hair and 7 year olds with periods. When a child's brain is dysfuntional, it is dysfunctional across the board. Precocious puberty is so well known in the Special Needs community. How could this supposedly well-versed in special needs family NOT KNOW about this phenomenon? I feel like they wanted a little girl to stay little all her life, which makes me think quite frankly of pedophilia.

They rejected HER before any of her behaviors manifested. Because she had pubic hair and a period? Then to top it off, we have only their version of her misconduct in the home. She is "re-aged" and dumped in a housing community while she is a still a child. Well, no wonder she behaves badly!

This whole thing is a horrible sick tragedy.

Team Natalia
And Team Disability

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michael is the exact definition of an unreliable narrator. What a lunatic!!! This guy 100% sexually abused Natalie IMO. Total creep

I think your claim that the dad sexually abused her is outrageous. I do agree that he is immature and is nuts. Both parents are horrible people. I really feel sad for the son on the show. He has been through horrible trauma that has destroyed his life. I HATED the hot mike moment and feel like it was entirely inappropriate for them to show that. I hate the producers for adding that in.

The step father and mother were both abusive to Natalia. I also believe that Natalia was trying to hurt them but there should have been some type of placement for her that would have been safer. She should never have been placed in a home with children.

Yeah, and then he called himself stupid. I felt so bad

[Anonymous]

As adoptive mother - I can guarantee that the agencies do not provide you all of the information. We found out startling info about my child when he was 14...and we used a country that was supposed to be the most ethical.
That being said, I think she was the age stated, or close, in the original paperwork. Her behaviour is indicative of RAD which is extremely common in the population of adopted kids who were in orphanages. I wish more people would take time to understand attachment disorders and the impact to every member of the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As adoptive mother - I can guarantee that the agencies do not provide you all of the information. We found out startling info about my child when he was 14...and we used a country that was supposed to be the most ethical.
That being said, I think she was the age stated, or close, in the original paperwork. Her behaviour is indicative of RAD which is extremely common in the population of adopted kids who were in orphanages. I wish more people would take time to understand attachment disorders and the impact to every member of the family.

I am not even sure how people still think she was an adult. Pictures of her from 2009 show her front baby teeth had just fallen out and her adult teeth are starting to come in. Any dentist could easily have told them an approximate age just from her teeth.

[Anonymous]

I feel so awful having watched this. Shame on the producers of this show. It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that Natalia was a child when all of this happened, given the fact that her biological mother was born in 1979. The creators of this show drew us in by making a disabled orphan look like a psychopathic monster when in reality she was just an abused child who had already been through more than anyone could imagine, including being abused by her adoptive parents literally on camera. Now so much of her medical history, her pubic hair, her abuse etc is out there for the world for entertainment. It’s enraging. I wish I never watched this sick show.

[Anonymous]

They are making a follow up with Natalia speaking-I hope she makes a lot of money from it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As adoptive mother - I can guarantee that the agencies do not provide you all of the information. We found out startling info about my child when he was 14...and we used a country that was supposed to be the most ethical.
That being said, I think she was the age stated, or close, in the original paperwork. Her behaviour is indicative of RAD which is extremely common in the population of adopted kids who were in orphanages. I wish more people would take time to understand attachment disorders and the impact to every member of the family.

I am not even sure how people still think she was an adult. Pictures of her from 2009 show her front baby teeth had just fallen out and her adult teeth are starting to come in. Any dentist could easily have told them an approximate age just from her teeth.

Not always. I had a friend who still hadn't lost any teeth when she was 10 and had to have them pulled so the adult teeth could grow in. Sure, most kids start losing teeth between 4-6 but it's not 100% guaranteed.

[Anonymous]

Watched the first episode and, whatever the truth may be, the dad gives off a “lying sack of shit” vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As adoptive mother - I can guarantee that the agencies do not provide you all of the information. We found out startling info about my child when he was 14...and we used a country that was supposed to be the most ethical.
That being said, I think she was the age stated, or close, in the original paperwork. Her behaviour is indicative of RAD which is extremely common in the population of adopted kids who were in orphanages. I wish more people would take time to understand attachment disorders and the impact to every member of the family.

I am not even sure how people still think she was an adult. Pictures of her from 2009 show her front baby teeth had just fallen out and her adult teeth are starting to come in. Any dentist could easily have told them an approximate age just from her teeth.

How can teeth be considered a good and true indicator of age in children when posters here are saying it’s in the realm to have a 4 year old with pubic hair and a 7 year old with periods.

[Anonymous]

I thought the pictures of Natalia with a girl the same age and with the same condition were really a compelling way to show Natalia was not the age stated. Natalia looked like a giant compared to her. Also what about all the nurses/orderlies in the mental hospital detailing all the crude sexual behavior she was exhibiting and they too thought she was much older than 6 years old. I’m not saying she was 22 but I def think she was more towards a teenager than a 1st grader.

[Anonymous]

I agree, she clearly was a young teen at the time. Not that that makes any of this better.

[Anonymous]

Did I miss why no medical tests done to determine her age? We can date bones of dead people from 2000 years ago. We can’t use the same xray technology to scan a living person to get a better age range?

She wasn’t 6 when she was adopted. But I don’t think she was 20 either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the pictures of Natalia with a girl the same age and with the same condition were really a compelling way to show Natalia was not the age stated. Natalia looked like a giant compared to her. Also what about all the nurses/orderlies in the mental hospital detailing all the crude sexual behavior she was exhibiting and they too thought she was much older than 6 years old. I’m not saying she was 22 but I def think she was more towards a teenager than a 1st grader.

Kids with the same genetic disorder can have markedly different presentations. My daughter weighed 39 pounds when she was 10. Another kid with the same disorder weighed 149. Were they faking their ages? No. Growth rates and puberty are completely different for each kid. One kid with a genetic disorder is exactly that. One kid.