My Parents Had Me Kidnapped

When I was 15 years old, my parents paid people to have me kidnapped & taken to a wilderness therapy program in Utah. It remains the scariest night of my life thus far.

Why? Well, my challenges with autism had made things really bad at home.

I wasn’t violent - to others, at least - but screaming matches between my dad & I about every contention imaginable were a daily occurrence.

I had gotten into the habit of simply walking out of school every few days because being filed away into a special education classroom (despite my above-average intellect) was too much to bear.

I spent every moment I was allowed - and many that I wasn’t - on my computer, feeding my video game addiction with games like “League of Legends” and “World of Warcraft”. The best I ever felt back then were during my numb escapes into a virtual world.

With my sister battling life-threatening cancer, my parents had been pushed to the brink. Once I started threatening my own safety - my own life - my parents felt forced to take drastic action.

So, they did.

Two gigantic men - “goons”, as I learned they were called - woke me up around three AM in the middle of the night, and as I came back to the world of the living, they were all I saw at first - and I was terrified. Was I being kidnapped? What could possibly be going on?

My terror turned into horror as my groggy eyes widened and brought the downcast faces of my parents into view. The idea of being kidnapped - as terrifying as it is - is something my brain could process.

What was happening here, though? I truly had no idea at all… and there are few things scarier than the absolute unknown.

My mom explained to me that these men were going to take me to a camp in Utah. Half awake, I asked something like “I don’t have a choice in the matter, do I?”. I, of course, did not.

Then… “How long do I have to be there?” - and while I don’t recall the answer, i do remember that it was vague and unsatisfying.

I was handed some clothes to put on, and - still half-awake - was marched down to the car, with one of the men’s fist clamped onto the neck of my t-shirt to ensure I didn’t make a break for it. That was the moment it really sank in. “It’s like that, then… huh.”

The drive from Fresno to LAX went smoothly enough…