The wording she uses at certain points in her story encapsulates some of the problematic aspects of her community that enabled this situation to happen.: There are certain behavioral tendencies among people who have disabilities on the autism spectrum, but none of them define who somebody is. Behind each unique diagnosis lies a person with their own feelings, beliefs, thoughts and potential.
Her story makes it clear that her community failed not only her, but Troy as well. By defining Troy primarily through his disability, his community hashim. They have relinquished the challenging but important duty of teaching him how to appropriately integrate himself into society.: This is a textbook case of. Adultification is a type of abuse or neglect where minors are given outsize responsibilities that should instead be handled by responsible adults.
Unfortunately, the extent of personal responsibility for someone like Troy isn’t quite scientifically clear. The autism spectrum of disorders is not yet fully understood, and scientists in various fields are still exploring what impact these disorders may have on an individual’s culpability for their own actions. From the author’s story, however, it feels like Troy was someone who could be held responsible for his own actions.
However responsible we think Troy is or isn’t for his actions, what is certain is that the author’s community has critically failed both of them. We’ve already described their failures in nurturing Troy, but perhaps greater still is the community’s failure to keep the author safe. She should have been listened to when she first raised her concerns and every time thereafter. She should’ve been protected from Troy.