Myka Stauffer’s documentary An Update on Our Family explains the controversy when he and her husband, James Stauffer, “rehomed” their adoptive autistic son Huxley. The three-part series premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and exposes the dark truths behind the family vlogging industry. The title of the docuseries comes from the controversial YouTube video the couple made while announcing their decision to place Huxley with a different family.
Family vloggers Myka, a former nurse, and James Stauffer faced backlash for rehoming Huxley in 2020. This occurred nearly three years after the Stauffers had adopted the boy with special needs from China. Huxley had been a crucial part of Myka Stauffer’s family vlogs and was four years old when the couple sought an adoption dissolution. Myka and James Stauffer gave up Huxley because they believed he “needed more” medical attention.
The controversy following Huxley’s rehoming ended the Stuaffer family’s vlogging career. Filmmaker Rachel Mason interviewed multiple people for the Myka Stauffer documentary An Update on Our Family. These people comprised other family vloggers, adoption experts, journalists, and families with adoptive children. It “exposes the hidden-in-plain-sight, unregulated family vlogging industry,” per Tribeca Film Festival website.
An Update on Our Family: What have Myka and James Stauffer said about ‘rehoming’ Huxley?
The Independent stated that Myka and James Stauffer had previously discussed rehoming Huxley in a 2020 YouTube video. After consulting several medical professionals, the Stauffers believed their autistic adoptive son had “severe needs.” They claimed that Huxley had “lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of.”
Myka Stauffer, a mother of four, had claimed that Huxley “needed more” medical assistance. However, she said that they love Huxley “with all of our being,” Myka added, “Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent.” She eventually revealed that the boy had found a “new forever family” through the adoption agency. The new adoptive family has since changed Huxley’s name.
According to People Magazine, Myka and James Stauffer’s lawyers stated that they “are privy to this case.” The lawyers, Thomas Taneff and Taylor Sayers, said that “given the facts at hand,” they believe “this was the best decision for Huxley.” They claimed that “medical professionals advised our clients it might be best for Huxley to be placed with another family” over time.
Taneff and Sayers added that the Stauffers “consulted with multiple professionals in the healthcare and educational arenas” after Huxley’s adoption. The couple reportedly wanted to provide their adoptive son with special needs “with the best possible treatment and care.” Moreover, they claimed that the Stauffers “did NOT include any considerations for placement in the foster system.” Instead, they “hand-select a family who is equipped to handle Huxley’s needs.”
After Myka and James Stauffer revealed that they rehomed Huxley, authorities launched an investigation into the well-being of the boy and the couple’s four biological children. An Update on Our Family further examines the case from a different angle using interviews and similar experiences.