'Adult baby' under investigation for Social Security fraud

[Liberal_in_LA]

Saw this guy featured on the cable reality show "Taboo" (if you get time warner, it's in video on demand this week).

Summary: 29 year old guy sleeps in crib, sits in play pen, eats in high chair, wears gigantic diaper and onsies. He must weigh about 300 pounds so his baby accessories are huge. Cared for by older woman. Both live on disability. He's shown going to Home depot, buying lumber so that he can build the crib, gigantic high chair, so I wondered also if he's capable of working.




'Adult baby' under investigation for Social Security fraud

Earlier this month National Geographic's "Taboo" television series featured a segment about Stanley Thornton, a 30-year-old man who sleeps in a crib, wears XXL diapers and sucks juice from a bottle. Stanley is part of a subgroup of adults who practice a lifestyle often referred to as infantalism.

Thornton collects disability payments from the federal government and has come under fire by Republic Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma who thinks the adult baby should be able to hold down a job.

Coburn believes Thornton has demonstrated an ability to support himself through his work on an online adult baby support group, www.bedwettingabdl.com, which he launched in 2000. Thornton also demonstrated carpentry skills on the National Geographic program on which he's shown building giant-size baby furniture.
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In response to Coburn's attack, Thornton wrote a letter to the Washington Times threatening to commit suicide if his social security benefits are cancelled:

You wanna test how damn serious I am about leaving this world, screw with my check that pays for this apartment and food. Try it. See how serious I am. I don't care. I have no problem killing myself. Take away the last thing keeping me here, and see what happens. Next time you see me on the news, it will be me in a body bag.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=89385#ixzz1MwVMkcBj

[Angry Dragon]

1. Strange

[Indianademocrat91]

32. That's pretty much all you can say about that..

Although I would have thought that Senator Vitter would have tried to cover up these pictures from his days before running for Senate.. :shrug:

[NYC_SKP]

2. Heard about this on Talk Radio today....

Not sure, but it seems like Coburn might be right.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, I don't like the idea of feeding this man's fetish.

I tend to want to call his bluff and cut his benefits.

Could this be a disability?

Is this a reasonable expenditure for our retirement funds?

:shrug:

[Drale]

6. This adult baby stuff is not a disability but

This guy defiantly has some mental issues. Anyone who is ready to kill themselves if their government check stops needs to be institutionalized because they obviously can't take care of themselves.

[NYC_SKP]

11. Or it's a bluff. (nt)

[Bluenorthwest]

12. The article says the disablity is heart trouble and PST

nt

[originalpckelly]

7. Are you his psychiatrist?

Don't you think a man who dresses as an infant might have some type of mental illness?

I seriously doubt it's actual fraud, you know.

Most people think it is easy to receive disability benefits, but it is not.

I know of people who you'd call disabled, who were turned down many times by Social Security, and then later acknowledged to be disabled.

Now, if it is true fraud, then he will suffer the consequences.

[NYC_SKP]

9. Are you calling this a mental illness just because he's different?

Seems kind of harsh, maybe he's just lazy and playful.

I live in California.

I've met dozens of people with all manner of fetishes.

Most of them work.

If he's sick he's sick but there are fraudulent doctors everywhere who will sign anything.

Like I said, I live in California.

[originalpckelly]

13. The SSA process is thorough and takes many months...

and has a high denial rate, and it is not uncommon for people truly ill to be turned down many, many, many times before they win their case.

[tammywammy]

24. I watched the show, he doesn't do this for a sexual thrill.

He and the woman that stays with him says that he suffered a very traumatic childhood.

[Texasgal]

14. On a related note

Our regional grocery store hires alot of mentally disadvantaged people as baggers, checkers and greeters.

[originalpckelly]

3. Do we know the details of the man?

He may, in fact, be mentally ill. That doesn't imply that he's physically incapable of working.

I don't about you, but do you think a man who dresses as a large baby and threatens to kill himself might just be a candidate for a mental illness?

I happen to know some other folks in America who aren't at all sick, and they sit around on their lazy asses all day, on a yacht, in one of 10 houses, or going out to play golf.

I don't hear him complaining much about them, do you?

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. He didn't seem mentally ill, just into a fetish. Just stating my opinion

[tammywammy]

22. I didn't think it was a fetish when I watched the show

He's not doing it for any sexual thrills. He and the woman caretaker says that he had a very traumatic childhood. I would suspect deep mental issues.

[lbrtbell]

4. This man is a disgrace

It's disgusting that he ever got on disability, while so many truly disabled people (myself included) have been fighting for years to get on it, because we really can't work.

[Texasgal]

10. Agreed..

People like this hurt others who are really in need.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. His disability is heart trouble. The other is baggage.

Not knowing his physical condition, disgust seems to be a strong reaction. Do you know his physical condition, did you read the article? Or did you just listen to the Republican?

[originalpckelly]

18. PTSD first:

"But imagine having that same friend jumping out and scaring you 20-30 times a day over several years time. The heart doesn't get any down/rest time. That does damage. The PTSD causes nightmares and flashbacks. Both raise my blood pressure. For example, many raise my blood pressure to a average of 190/110 with a 110 pulse.

The doctor explained to me that because I have so many nightmares and flashbacks so often, keeping my blood pressure at such a high level for extended periods of time, it has done damage to my heart.

Which is why the last few years I have had more and more chest pain more often. Although I was advised to take fish oil caplets and that has helped reduce the chest pain. Anyone reading this with a similar problem, try taking 2 1200mg fish oil caplets once a day. It helps. Of course check with your doctor first.

Anyway, the doctor told me right out, that one day I will have a nightmare or flashback that will cause my blood pressure to rise one time too many, and I will die of a heart attack. So it's not exactly nice having a death sentence over my head. But being AB, helps me relax and to lower my blood pressure swiftly after a nightmare or flashback. The sooner I can get the blood pressure back down after a flashback or nightmare, the better. So being AB is actually saving my life in my case.

I found being AB has helped me deal with A LOT. It helps me deal with being in diapers for the bed wetting, and dealing with the trauma in my childhood abuse, and of course helps with the PTSD and the heart damage. It's got me through many difficult times. And the proof in that is that I am here today to tell the story. So with that said let me tell you how things came to be.........."

There are some DUers who might be able to tell you about PTSD and how debilitating it can be. I'd like to see your ass grow up like that, and then be unlucky enough to escape the violence physically, but to have to relive it that many times a day.

We like to gang up on people and tear them down, it's true that this is honestly weird, but so are most fetishes to the general population.

[cutlassmama]

20. that sounds disabling to me. Just what is it that Coburn is going to

"investigate"? I'd like to see Coburn live on SSD payments. He couldn't do it.

[originalpckelly]

21. I know, people think it's some kind of wonderful thing.

It's a sentence to poverty for the rest of your existence on this earth, unless you manage to find a way to work.

[Raine]

16. Totally agree. nt

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Coburn is a known liar. And he's in Congress.

Coburn negotiated the pay off for Ensign's adulterous affairs, like a good Christian. Tossing around millions to buy his friend a fuck.
The other guy is odd as well. But not in Congress.

[TimLighter]

17. He may very well be able to work

but there are child labor laws to consider.

[LoZoccolo]

19. I'm not sure a baby who is not yet off of pacifiers is old enough to play with little toy soldiers.

I don't have children of my own, so I really don't know much about the stages of development, but you'd think that if a child still wants to chew on a pacifier, that you would not give them something small enough that they could put it in their mouth and choke on. He doesn't seem to have worked out this role completely.

[jwirr]

23. I have had to fight to get on Social Security and there are an awful

lot of doctors that you have to see in order to qualify. I hesitate to believe this story of fraud if he really gets social security. I would want to know what his diagnosis is before I make a judgment. This sounds very strange to me and I have been working with disabled persons since I was 16 years old and had my own disabled child.

[Hannah Bell]

25. unemployment is 9%. i don't see the point of this crap.

[Crunchy Frog]

26. Sounds like someone who should be running for Senate as a Republican.

[XemaSab]

27. In Redding, CA

no less.

[-..__...]

28. Call his bluff...

cut off his benefits.

[Vito Andolini]

29. There sure are a lot of doctors with access to this man's medical records on DU.

[GReedDiamond]

30. R. Crumb...Big Baby...

[and-justice-for-all]

31. Throughs a tantrum like a spoiled brat...

Augustus Gloop you bad little piggy.

[Frank Cannon]

33. Nice to know that National Geographic is covering this

Remember when National Geographic was a magazine featuring articles about people in countries around the world? They were especially noted for their stunning photography.



Looks like they've moved on to different subject matter. Someone please tell me why the movie Idiocracy wasn't a documentary.