Tricia I've wanted to start this thread for weeks now as I began to realize that something more deeper about Misty's cognitive thinking was going on. When I listened over and over to the taped recordings of her speeches I flagged many moments that revealed Misty has disabilities, and I'm going to say again. She needs an adult mental comp evaluation done immediately for everyone's sake.
I respectfully snipped and only quoted for space.
For me it's also a difficult subject to discuss with 'strangers'. I am so with you regarding this part of your post, Kool Look.
I have only read this first page so my apologies if what I'm posting is a repeat.
When all this first started....maybe a week after Haleigh went missing, myself and a couple others here remarked/shared our opinions about Misty.
I brought up FAS and a couple people agreed with me, others didn't and that was fine, too.
When I listen to her taped recordings, her interviews (which I have, over and over again), it is so obvious there is something a little....for lack of a better word....'slow' about Misty.
I am not here to become a shield of armor for Misty...nopey nope.
But to shorten this post a lot, here's my vision of a possible past scenerio:
Misty, four, maybe 5 years old, sitting on the living room floor playing with a ragged Barbie doll.
Around her, sitting on the chairs and couches are adults, all smoking like chimneys, possibly drinking alcohol, possibly doing drugs.
If this is the type of situation Misty was born in to, that child didn't have a chance from the beginning.
I just can't see a room full of drinking, smoking, possibly drug-taking adults concerning themselves with a little girl who wasn't quite as bright as others.
Adults who had other things to do rather than sit with the child and read a bedtime story to her at night.
Adults who probably didn't care if the child knew her ABC's when she entered kindergarten.
For an average child this would be a rather large obsticle to overcome when they entered school.
For a FAS child, or child with other issues/learning disabilities, this becomes a huge obsticle.....think of the learning curve.
Once a child starts school on the wrong foot like the above possible scenerio, further behind than the other children, and if nobody steps up and does something about it, the child gets further and further behind and shortly falls through the cracks.
By first and second grade the child is being made fun of.
Little kids can be cruel....calling the slow child '*advertiser censored*' and worse.
By fourth grade the child gives up and becomes disruptive in class...sometimes out of pure frustration, sometimes because it's the only way to get attention, positive or negative,it's still attention the child is craving.
From my experience, the poorer the county/school system, the quicker they push the slow child through the school...almost like they can't get them out of their fast enough - this is JMO!
There is so much more I want to say but I don't have the grammar skills to put my thoughts into words so that I can get my ideas across properly so that they are understood.
And again, in no way am I defending any of Misty's actions since the night of HaLeigh's disappearance, but more to point out that maybe, just maybe LE/FBI/etc are dealing with a learning disabled girl and maybe a lot of what we, the public, are seeing in interviews is the result.