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It has been a year since anyone saw Jacob Pritchett.
The 11-year-old boy, who is autistic and nonverbal, was reported missing in October. But, as far as anyone can tell, he was last seen through his window on April 2, 2025, by a property manager at his NYCHA apartment in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
When questioned by police, his mother claimed that she has never had a child, that she is barren and, also, that she is Jesus Christ. Police found blood in the apartment and on a mattress outside. Jacob’s mother has his name tattooed on her arm.
Children like Jacobs with disabilities are three times as likely to be victims of abuse and neglect as their able-bodied peers. Why? An article in the journal Pediatrics notes that “Children with chronic illnesses or disabilities sometimes can place higher emotional, physical, economic and social demands on their families.”
It is not uncommon to read about cases like, Mason, a 6-year-old autistic boy in Florida who was beaten by his mother’s boyfriend and succumbed to his injuries in February. The mother said her boyfriend frequently became frustrated by the boy’s behavior. The boyfriend probably wasn’t great at parenting to begin with, but it is true that parents can become overwhelmed by the responsibilities and behaviors of kids with severe disabilities.
It’s not only that their parents cannot or do not want to care for them, it is also that these children can’t tell other adults when something is going wrong in their lives.
Authorities say that Jacob had never been to school. It seems likely that it was his neighbors who anonymously reported his absence.
Just like small children who cannot inform neighbors or teachers or other relatives when they are being abused or not being fed or not receiving proper medical care, children with disabilities are often isolated.
Neglect of children with disabilities is even more common than abuse.
Last year, 8-year- old Nazir Millien, who was on a feeding tube, starved to death when his mentally ill mother died of cardiac arrest at their Bronx apartment. And in 2024,10-year-old Brian Santiago, who was confined to a wheelchair and used a feeding tube, was found dead in the Marble Hill NYCHA complex after his mother suffered a fatal overdose.
It’s unfortunately true that some of these children’s disabilities are related to the fact that their mothers were using drugs or alcohol during pregnancy. Infants exposed to drugs or alcohol in utero are more likely to be born with lifelong mental and physical disabilities. There is a toxic combination of parents with mental illness or drug addiction having children who need even more care but having parents who are even less capable of exercising it. In some cases, the parents themselves may be suffering from disabilities.
Tragically, our systems are often unrealistic about the extent to which parents with drug addiction or mental illness or developmental disabilities are capable of handling the higher-level needs of their children. In some of these cases, like that of Nazir, the Administration for Children’s Services was well aware of the mother’s mental illness and left the vulnerable child in her care. Brian Santiago was actually removed by ACS at one point and then returned to his mother.
There are advocates who argue that removing children of struggling parents is somehow discriminatory.
On a recent podcast, disability rights advocate Robyn Powell suggested that when courts cite parental disability “as a predictor of harm” (in cases where children have already suffered abuse or neglect), this is the “legacy of eugenics.”
Caring for children with significant disabilities — whether they are developmental disabilities like autism, or physical disabilities that affect mobility or children’s ability to feed themselves — is a heavy lift for any mother or father. To imagine that a parent suffering from addiction or mental illness would be able to care for children with high levels of need without significant supports and oversight is naive at best.
Caseworkers and judges need to understand the serious risks of keeping a disabled child who has been abused or neglected with their parents. Child welfare workers need to be conducting regular visits and consulting with relatives and neighbors about what is really going on in the home. And agencies cannot be cowed by parent advocates or disability advocates into keeping a child in a home with parents who are overwhelmed by the responsibilities of caring for these vulnerable children.
Police have searched everywhere for Jacob, including in local landfills, and finding him alive seems unlikely. But we can hope that child welfare leaders (and the public) see the significant risks in situations like this. Children with disabilities are, by definition, less able to help themselves. They need more from the rest of us.
English (US)