The storyline here is taken from the real life Gypsy Blanchard story, a young woman whose mother moved her from place to place and doctor to doctor to keep the story going that Gypsy was an unbelievably sick kid (she was actually much older than neighbors, friends, others thought because of the way her mother DeeDee kept her infantilized). Another reviewer complained that this episode didn't focus on just one issue (the issue of consensual sex between young people with disabilities), but that's only because Law & Order SVU kept pretty much to reality with only slight variations. Given that this is a take off on a real life story, the acting was pretty good: young Mariel starts out as someone with significant cognitive delays as well as health issues, and once "freed" from the Munchausen mother, her cognitive abilities evolve to more like her real age.
Munchausen's by Proxy is a very uncommon but serious mental disorder, and the ripples from it can be devastating to the child but also others around the child/family. Like SVU regularly does, this episode spotlighted an important issue that is little understood by the general public but one that we should be aware of.
Munchausen's by Proxy is a very uncommon but serious mental disorder, and the ripples from it can be devastating to the child but also others around the child/family. Like SVU regularly does, this episode spotlighted an important issue that is little understood by the general public but one that we should be aware of.