Hidden-camera video shocked parents You're just supposed to be neutral and firm,' says autism therapy expert after reviewing nanny-cam video

Hidden-camera video shocked parents

You're just supposed to be neutral and firm,' says autism therapy expert after reviewing nanny-cam video


When Jennifer noticed her four-year-old son Adam acting strangely after an at-home therapy session to treat his autism last September, she became suspicious.

So her husband installed a hidden camera. What they witnessed on video left them shaken and unsure where to turn for help.

Usually, Adam would greet Jennifer excitedly at the door when she arrived home from work. That September day, he stood with his head bowed, clutching his stomach.

When Jennifer tilted his face up to look at him, she said she noticed a red mark on his cheek that hadn't been there when she left the house that morning

Worried about their 4-year-old's changed behaviour, these parents secretly recorded his autism therapy. What they found appalled them

Jennifer asked his therapist, Stephanie Vernucci, what was wrong with him.

Vernucci said she didn't know how the mark got there.


"She kept saying, 'I don't know, I don't know,'" recalled Jennifer, who asked that their real names not be used to protect her son. "She said, 'He gave me a hard time today.'"

Adam wanted Jennifer to hold him. He then took his mother by the hand and led her to his room for a nap, which Jennifer said was completely out of character.

Vernucci followed them and explained she'd never seen Adam, who is non-verbal, act so badly, Jennifer said.

The therapist also said he'd been a handful for his grandmother, who had been caring for Adam earlier that day.

As soon as Vernucci left, Jennifer called her mother.

"I asked her, 'Did he give you a hard time?'" said Jennifer. "And she said, 'No, he was a little angel. He was happy and playing all morning.'"

Hidden camera

That night, Jennifer asked her husband to set up a hidden camera in the basement, where the therapist worked with Adam, to record the following day's session so they could see what was going on.
The camera was triggered by motion, capturing video but no sound.
When Jennifer and her husband watched the 93 minutes that had been recorded on video the following day, they couldn't believe what they saw
Both were shocked at the way the therapist physically handled their son that day

On two occasions, Vernucci is seen on the video pulling the bean-bag chair that Adam is sitting on out from under him. 

She is seen pulling Adam by his arm, three times. During one of those encounters, she roughly leads him to his work table and forces him to sit down.

At one point, the therapist can be seen following behind Adam as he headed toward toward his bean-bag chair. Before he could reach it, the therapist caught up to him and appeared to push him to the ground. She then appeared to gesture for Adam to sit on the bean-bag chair. As he starts to sit down, she pulls the chair away.

The video also recorded a moment where the therapist leads Adam by the arm to his bean bag chair. When he turns over onto his stomach, she grabs him by his ankles and pulls him into the middle of the chair. 

The recording also shows there is little actual therapy going on.

By the time Jennifer and her husband finished watching the video, Jennifer was shaking and crying uncontrollably.
"It was the ultimate betrayal," said Jennifer, who had been friendly with the therapist and said she'd treated Vernucci like family. 

'High hopes' for Adam

When Adam was diagnosed with autism at two-and-a-half, his psychologist suggested therapy and recommended Alexandra Rothstein.
Rothstein is a behaviour analyst, certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a non-profit corporation based in the U.S

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