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Click here for article on Psychology Today's Website: Autistic Kids Are Magnets for Ghosts
Autistic Kids Are Magnets For Ghosts
Deborah Schurman-Kauflin Ph.D.
Criminal profiler and expert on serial crimes
They are special, no doubt about that. They have their own ways of seeing the world and communicating. And though it can be trying at times, having an autistic child can make your heart grow. These children have so many gifts and can teach us patience. But they have other abilities as well. Autistic children are magnets for spirit activity.
If you have one of these special children, you may have noticed that things happen around your house. No, I’m not talking about the normal things in a child filled home. I’m talking about unusual things. Ghostly things. Things that go bump in the night.
It would appear as if unseen beings like autistic children. Because they process information and see the world differently, autistic children are more likely to see strange things. They often witness activities way before anyone else in the home. They are more sensitive to nuances, and they cannot lie. So when they look at the ceiling and react as if someone is talking to them, then you know you are dealing with truth. They really are seeing and hearing something. Naturally, you shouldn’t assume it is a ghost when such a thing happens. You must always consider the possibility of hallucination. Medications or mental illness certainly can have that effect. However, when others see and hear the same things, then you have to consider other possibilities.
Take Melissa for example. Melissa is a single mom to 12 year old autistic Daniel. From the time he was little, Daniel would look up at the ceiling and react to some invisible being. As he got older, Daniel would draw pictures of an old man in a cowboy hat and say things like ‘he here.’ He’d point to the picture, then at the ceiling. With time, Melissa became worried about her son’s mental health and took him to a neurologist who found nothing wrong but referred Daniel to a psychiatrist. Though Daniel showed no other signs of psychosis other than seemingly seeing something in the home, the psychiatrist said Daniel was psychotic. This was a real blow, and Melissa was devastated.
Yet, Daniel wasn’t the only family member to see the old cowboy. Even though Melissa hadn’t seen him, her mother had. And Daniel’s nine year old brother had seen and heard the man as well. It wasn’t until a neighbor saw the cowboy that Melissa began to believe there was more at work than a psychosis.
Living in Texas, it wasn’t a stretch that you might see an apparition of a cowboy. And Melissa began asking questions about the area where her family lived. She never did find out if anyone had died on the property, but after asking around, she found there were other people in the neighborhood who had had strange things happening in their homes too. They talked about things moving on their own. Doors slammed when the windows were closed. Melissa is convinced that her family has contact with the paranormal. She is very angry that her son was labeled as psychotic when he clearly was not. Since coming to terms with it, Melissa said the activity lessened.
Something went on in her home. Whether paranormal or not, her son saw something unusual before anyone else did. Was it his autism that allowed him to do so?
Another case involved Billie and her husband Ray. Billie and Ray were at their wit’s end when their autistic daughter claimed to see people who weren’t there. Naturally they were terrified of bringing her to a mental health professional for fear of having their daughter hit with a label. They took their concerns to their primary doctor who told them that it likely wasn’t schizophrenia and that they should not fear seeing a psychologist. Reluctantly they took Elle to a psychologist. Thankfully, this professional was not the type to jump to conclusions and didn’t find evidence of schizophrenia or psychosis. She did say that Elle was very imaginative and it was likely the product of an overactive imagination. Elle was given a clean bill of health, but the family was confused. Elle really believed what she saw. It seemed like more than just imagination.
Maybe it was their apartment, they thought. Maybe being there was too noisy. There was constant traffic and construction. Their lease was coming due anyway, so they decided to move. A change of scenery could help, they thought. But it seems that the spirit wanted to hitch a ride along with them because Elle didn’t let up in her behavior after the move, and neither did the spirit. In fact, now it wasn’t only Elle who experienced the vision of the Asian man. Billie began dreaming of him. Her husband Ray had the feeling of being touched when he was in bed. Things rearranged themselves in the home.
What was going on? Billie had a friend who knew someone who was psychic. After all the family had gone through, she figured she’d give that a shot. She asked if the psychic could help, and the psychic agreed to do remote viewing of the home. Without telling the woman anything, Billie was shocked when the psychic talked about an Asian man who had been killed in a robbery. She said the man was named Ron and had followed Elle home when he saw her. She said the man meant no harm. He simply wanted to be seen and heard. The psychic told Billie that if she spoke to Ron and told him that he was scaring them that he would go away. Reluctantly, Billie took an afternoon when everyone was out of the home and had a ‘talk’ with Ron. She told him he was scaring them and that they wanted him to leave. Billie reported that she heard a loud bang after she told Ron to leave. Was it the neighbors? She wasn’t sure. However, after her ‘talk,’ the activity in the home decreased. Though Ron didn’t leave, he did tone it down, enough that the family could deal with him being there.
Many, many people with Autistic children seem to experience the paranormal. In some cases it is simply a matter of a bad medicine reaction. Once the medication was changed, then the ‘ghost’ disappeared. However, there are other cases where family members see and hear things as well. If you have had this happen, then you should know you are not alone. It is not unusual. But this can add so much stress to an already stressful situation. How can a family cope with strange happenings on top of dealing with a special child? First and foremost, if you have this happening, take a deep breath before doing anything. Don’t jump to conclusions. If your child seems to be interacting with something that you cannot see, don’t automatically assume that it is paranormal. Always look for a physical or psychological cause for any unusual behavior. Check with doctors and check medicines. Always take care of your child’s physical and mental health
.
At the same time, if you have ruled out other options and more than one person in your home is having strange experiences, you may want to consider the possibility that something else is going on. There are so many wonders in this world, and we will never know everything. There are honest to goodness hauntings that do occur. Some can be explained; some cannot be explained. There are ghostly occurrences that may scare you, while others are helpful and comforting. Just know that your child is more special than you even knew! And if you are one of the parents living with a child who is different from others, please understand that you are special too. You must have a wonderful heart to have been given the chance to have a unique child.
Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D. is a practicing psychic medium and a retired criminal profiler who has studied and investigated serial killers for more than 20 years. She has interviewed serial killers and mass murderers and consulted on hundreds of serial cases for police departments. She has trained thousands of FBI agents, detectives, Attorney General Investigators and others. She has consulted with elected officials, and her research has appeared in the U.S. Congressional Report. Dr. Schurman-Kauflin is the author of 3 profiling books and numerous articles. She is the author of profiles for female serial killers, sadistic killers, and terrorists. In 2000, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin was asked to prepare a profile of the unsolved BTK serial killer case. This was published by Court TV, and in 2004, Dennis Rader sent a copy of Dr. Schurman-Kauflin's profile of him to police prior to his capture. He had renamed her profile "Hits" because it described him so accurately. She predicted the Mumbai India terror attacks in 2008 and 2011. Additionally, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin has appeared as an expert on the Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, Seoul Broadcasting Network, Fox News, ABC, CNN, and many radio programs. Her most recent book "Is There a Ghost in Your House?" was released March 2014. It is available on amazon.com
