Jani Schofield's parents are divorcing

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

Wow.  I caught the last 30 mins of their first special on TLC yesterday.  I had no idea of who they were, hadn't heard of them at all. My first impression was that there was something really off with the parents, but I hadn't seen enough to know if that was just the way that TLC had edited them (because TLC *never* tries to add extra drama )  

After a quick Google and now a read through this old thread I'm disgusted that TLC is still airing this.  I have no idea what is really going on with that family,  but it's clear that the parents are all kinds of problematic (at the very least  ) and possibly abusive. Those poor kids.

[Lyle Lanley]

I saw a post of mine liked and I was wondering if the Schofields were at it again. Guess Susan is releasing a book.

TLC has no problem with worrying about what their audience thinks. Hence why the Duggars are still on the air. Most people have no idea about what Jani's parents are like. People tuned in and said "Huh, good entertainment factor" and then never thought any further. I suspect it was re-aired as promotion for Susan's latest book.

[Carm_88]

I just don't believe a thing that these parents say. 

[Lyle Lanley]

I haven't checked in on them since the whole affair drama but I guess they're having huge custody battles over Jani and Bodhi.

They are prime examples of two people who should have never been together in the first place, let alone have children together. I think Jani (and now Bodhi) would have been further off not having their medical issues exploited by their parents in such a manner. Michael especially seems like a vile human being but he's had the good sense to lock almost everything down to the public.

What's heartbreaking is it doesn't seem like those children have anyone else in their lives who can step in. It seems Michael and Susan circled the wagons there.

[JermajestyDuggar]

According to fb, she's engaged to a man she's been with for less than 6 months. Who seems to completely support all the irrational shit she does and plays into it all on fb. Great. That's exactly what this fucked up situation needed 

[SuchABlessing]

Susan's FB is all about venting about her ex husband and telling the world exactly what her ex owes in back child support, sharing overly personal info about her kids (she has a post about the day Jani got her first period), and how the kids' doctors won't listen to her and give them the meds she wants them to have. She wants her youngest to be diagnosed with schizophrenia badly,  but the doctors only will give him a diagnosis for autism.  She's got a classic case of munchausers by proxy (don't judge me on how I just butchered that spelling.)

[CrazyLurkerLady]

I saw the initial documentary years ago (the Oprah thing) and I remember reading on another board how odd it was. Like the scene in the waiting room where the mom is trying to get her admitted and keeps telling the receptionist that Jani is actively psychotic. Meanwhile, Jani is wandering the room calmly, looking bored. It all seems so OTT. 

Shades of Deedee Blanchard (though hopefully with a much less dramatic outcome!).

[Lyle Lanley]

She's so hell bent on getting Bodhi diagnosed with schizophrenia. It's sad. I won't speculate on what the physicians have diagnosed Bodhi and Jani with because we aren't privy to the nitty gritty details. I do wonder if the physicians at UCLA are continually hospitalizing Bodhi out of fear that Susan will get the medications she wants for Bodhi on the black market and they want to keep a close eye on the kid so it doesn't happen.

[pook]

Something tells me I don't want to hop on this crazy train...

[freejugar]

Ahhgh those poor kids never had a chance.

[OyToTheVey]

I'm new to this crazy train. I saw the TLC specials a few days ago and wow. So much to say and not enough words to say them. Those parents are a nightmare. I don't think dad is innocent in anything but the one thing I can't fault him for is divorcing Susan. She wanted her kid diagnosed with schizophrenia so bad she could taste it. I have a background in special education, granted only birth to second grade but Bodhi is a classic autistic child. I'm not surprised his doctors won't give another diagnosis. There is no other diagnosis for him. I do think that at least some of what those kids have is genetic. From the interviews I saw, dad definitely has a very very mild case of something. He has a weird way of speaking. And mom is a little too perky and happy to be talking about her kids illnesses. Every parent I've ever worked with, even the ones in denial, didn't talk like that. I wonder if she's on meds because her reactions are not normal. If you know your child gets upset after chocolate is stuck in his teach, why was it out where he can reach it? Also, with 2 mentally disabled children, that apartment did not look conducive to a relaxing environment. If I came into a parents house to work with a child and I saw that, those parents would be lectured. I'm really trying not to give an armchair the diagnosis or therapy, but soooooooooo many red flags appeared when I saw the specials.

[Lyle Lanley]

51 minutes ago, pook said:

Something tells me I don't want to hop on this crazy train...

The TLC special and Oprah interview made them seem normal(ish). It made them seem like two parents willing to do whatever it took to help their daughter whom medical science could not help.

Then I read January First and followed Michael and Susan's exploits up until the affair. You can't even use the word dysfunctional to describe the two of them. I am not even sure there is a word to describe their behaviour. I had to shut the window after Susan typed out that she's had more sex in the past four months than in 15 years of marriage. Nope. I'm out!

[Mela99]

I thought Michael up and moved to Minnesota? I read the book. If anybody has any links to the current crazy, I'm curious. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

17 minutes ago, Mela99 said:

I thought Michael up and moved to Minnesota? I read the book. If anybody has any links to the current crazy, I'm curious. 

I'm ashamed to admit I read Susan's public facebook posts. Michael has an apartment with his girlfriend and girlfriend's child whom he lives with in Minnesota. According to Susan he flies in to visit Jani and Bodhi occasionally and does not stay current on child or spousal support. Susan is engaged to her new boyfriend and she continues to post both text and video rants about how "the godfather" at UCLA refuses to diagnose Bodhi as schizophrenic even though he CLEARLY is JUST LIKE JANI! They have the SAME mental illness and should be on the SAME medication! Michael and Susan are both pathetic. They tried to get rich and famous off of their children's autism in my very uneducated and humble opinion. 

[Lyle Lanley]

3 hours ago, Mela99 said:

I thought Michael up and moved to Minnesota? I read the book. If anybody has any links to the current crazy, I'm curious. 

Susan's Facebook is public and she will become Facebook friends with anyone. I'm guessing from the posts the last round of bickering over child support was the last straw for Michael and he locked down his Facebook profile. That's about the only place right now that's public because it's "Susan's virtual diary".

It looks like Michael stopped blogging around the time the affair came to light since there were two Jani blogs but neither have been updated since that time. The Jani Foundation page is non stop promotion for a cartoon character now but there used to be all sorts of crazy on there. The landlord was going to evict them because of Jani and Bodhi's behavior so they tried to rally the troops to keep them there.

I do honestly wonder why no one sanitized parts of January First. Someone had to realize talking about pushing your wife out of a moving vehicle, starving your child to try and correct their behavior, and all sorts of other goodies would not go over well. Or am I giving anyone who was involved with that book too much credit?

[Mela99]

Wow . . . . .

I wonder how the kids are dealing with this. 

I remember thinking that Michael was an absolute nut case after reading January First but Susan sounds... out there. I can't believe he up and moved. He seemed so attached to Jani. I don't really understand any parent just... leaving like that.

[Lyle Lanley]

I often wonder if he thrived on Jani being "different". Now that the poor little mite is no longer "different", he took off.

[CrazyLurkerLady]

I'm reading January First right now. I'm only like two chapters in and he's already getting on my nerves. It's pages upon pages of moaning about how nooooobody understaaaaands Jani like he does! He complains that his wife keeps trying to force Jani to make friends, but it just never works out because nobody knows how to handle her. Well, why don't you SAY something?? Talk to the parents ahead of time, tell them what she likes to do, explain about her quirks and her "friends" like 400, and let them know that if she has a meltdown you'll have to leave. Instead, he just ignores everything she does, hates everybody there for not automatically understanding everything about her, then screams at his wife about it!

Not to mention the fact that he has to mention constantly that she's too much of a genius for kids her age anyway. He said that the verbal portion of her IQ test was 99.9% and he was told that she "broke the test" because it couldn't test any higher. I honestly don't believe that conversation happened. Maybe she tested very high, but super-ultra-genius-Einstein level? Nuh-uh. Not buying it.

And this is just nitpicky, but why do you need a Forward AND a Preface?

[littlemommy]

I'm gonna go ahead and guess that Michael Schofield uses a forward and preface for every conversation, not just books. I've followed him and his ex wife and they are drama junkies, to say the least.

[Toothfairy]

YouTube recommend them to me. I do remember this story. It was sad but now it sounds odd. The parents are famwhores. 

[Jilli]

I had forgotten about them, but YouTube reminded me. I’ve always felt bad for Jani. I’ve never liked her parents. There house seemed way too chaotic and that wasn’t the kids. I have a relative with schizophrenia and can’t imagine it being diagnosed that young. As for the abuse, I haven’t dug in yet. I’m a little afraid to.

 

 

[Howl]

Is there some possibility that he's the schizophrenic, rather than his children?  

[OGEmoji]

I watched a few minutes of their TV special and the parents definitely seem odd. When the dad is telling the cameras that Jani has been hospitalized again, he is smiling ear to ear, like he just loves that his daughter is ill enough to be admitted

 

The mom's interview gives off weird vibes too. Her mannerism is more like someone telling a funny and exciting story than someone who is discussing their child's struggles.

[Toothfairy]

I knew this story sounded weird from the start. They've been exposed as money making fake parents. Susan is delusional and pimps out her kids. She also abused the system. They had CPS called on them multiple times 

https://kiwifarms.net/threads/susan-schofield-cabana-cory-cabana-michael-schofield-schofield-productions-bipolarnation.32802/page-299

 

 

This is a link with everything exposing them

[littlemommy]

3 hours ago, Toothfairy said:

I knew this story sounded weird from the start. They've been exposed as money making fake parents. Susan is delusional and pimps out her kids. She also abused the system. They had CPS called on them multiple times 

https://kiwifarms.net/threads/susan-schofield-cabana-cory-cabana-michael-schofield-schofield-productions-bipolarnation.32802/page-299

 

 

This is a link with everything exposing them

I used to follow their story closely, but Susan’s Facebook has been quiet. Thanks for the link!!