About me and my work
My name is Natalie Anwar. I am an artist and mother of five sons. My three adult spontaneous, monozygotic (identical triplets) with profound autism are being held in placements after years of state failure. My home has always been full of color, art, and love. I’ve spent 18 years learning the triggers, the supports, and the precise care my boys need. I document their life through photography and paint; one of my nearly finished pieces is called “Judgment” — it is the heart of this campaign because it holds the truth of what happened to us.
The situation — in plain terms
On July 3, my adult sons with autism were removed from my home. I am facing criminal allegations related to the use of a stun-gun device, and I want to be completely transparent about what happened. I obtained the device to protect myself and my boys in the event of an escalated crisis –– not to punish them. I used the device in self-defense during a frightening situation because I had no reliable supports or safe alternative that would let me manage a crisis without calling 911. My sons are 6 feet tall, strong, and I've learned the hard way that intervening an altercation between them results in me being seriously harmed. My actions were driven by fear for our safety, not malice or abuse. The device: a 300kV Stun Gun with Alarm.
What led to this
• Since 2019 I have been fighting with Community Mental Health (CMH) for adequate supports for my sons. During the pandemic, isolation and lack of services pushed us into crisis.
• Aidan and Jaden were hospitalized from April–June 2021 (three months) due to lack of in-home supports and again beginning April 2023 for 18 months after undiagnosed medical issues tied to mold exposure in our home. I documented repeated calls to fix a plumbing leak (11 requests), a failure of building inspectors, and damage that led to medical decline.
• During the 18-month hospitalization at the state of Michigan's only psychiatric hospital for children, I submitted formal complaints about injuries and neglect. Those complaints were dismissed. Disability Rights Michigan (DRM) eventually substantiated concerns about over-use of restraints in 2025 — but help came too late. My sons were discharged just before their 18th birthday in 2024.
• We initially were given 1:1 in-home staff support 24/7. After I declined the behavior treatment plan in March 2025, those services were were dramatically reduced. The reason I was given was that 1:1 staffing was an intrusive technique and required for Medicaid billing and the hours I was given was based on utilization. Yet, I pointed out that since October 2024, the staffing agencies had not been given an approved treatment plan, which was Medicaid fraud, and I had no control over the hiring of staff or when someone called in or didn't show up. I refused to sign behavior treatment plans that treated calling 911 as the primary “solution” for crisis behavior without real de-escalation and positive behavior supports. Additionally, CMH would not modify the goal which I requested to include, "to avoid out of home placement or hospitalization," and called APS any time 911 was called, except for when I was severely injured trying to break up fights between my 3 sons on March 17, 2025 and had no staff.
I repeatedly asked for 1:1 staffing and appropriate behavior supports. I was also threatened with jail, fines, and staff elimination if I placed cameras in my private home so I could see what has happening when I was not at home. CMH still refused to increase my staff, denied access to staff logs and notes and rejected my appeals.
• I have filed complaints, sought help from MDHHS, DRM, state representatives and a senator, and waited for a state audit that has still not been released. Every step of the way, the system pushed us closer to institutionalization instead of supporting our home.
What happened after removal
• My sons were moved rapidly and, within 20 minutes at the home, two of my sons had to be transported to the hospital ER –– one for stitches and the other two CAT scans. These incidents that should alarm anyone who cares about basic safety. Between July 3 and September 2, I have documented 17 ER visits for all three boys — mostly Aidan and Jaden, and those are just the ones billed to private insurance.
July 3, 2025 - Aidan
July 4, 2025 - How Aidan celebrated Independence Day
• APS and CMH made prior arrangements with Beacon Specialized Living before my arrest and pressured consent while I was detained. I was denied meaningful participation in planning for placement despite being their legal partial guardian. A magistrate issued a no-contact order. Over the holiday weekend, Aidan was moved out of county without my consent to a remote Beacon home.
• Records are inconsistent and troubling: I have learned of medical claims filed listing hospital locations that do not match my sons’ counties — raising fear they could be re-listed or “mixed up” and lost in the system. Beacon has refused transparency and I have serious, documented concerns about their care.
Why this matters — bigger than my family
This is not only about one mother and her triplets. It is about how a system treats its most vulnerable. When we quiet mothers and fathers who fight for their children with disabilities, we allow neglect, profit-driven placements, rushed or wrong medical interventions, and the absence of accountability to grow. My sons may have limited speech but they have voiced their desire to return home. However, the probate judge removed me and their father as partial guardian without due process or considering all the evidence we had showing the trauma our sons have experienced, or how the allegations were a front to remove me as partial guardian so that the state could take guardianship, deem my sons incapacitated, and do what they want without parental "interference." Society’s failure to understand and meet their needs has real, painful consequences.
What I need funds for (transparent breakdown)
Your support will go directly to these urgent needs:
1. Legal defense and motions — retain new counsel experienced in guardianship, probate, and civil-rights litigation; cover court filings and motions; preservation of claims.
2. Expert evaluations, records & FOIA costs — obtain and review CMH, APS, hospital, and agency records; forensic review of medical and staffing records; pay experts to evaluate care and the pattern of failures; billing investigations.
3. Medical and advocacy costs — emergency visits, specialist consultations, documentation of injuries and neglect, transportation for medical care.
4. Travel & supervised visitation — gas, lodging, meals, and costs to attend hearings/visits.
5. Evidence preservation & outreach — professional document scanning, secure storage, and outreach to reporters/advocacy organizations if needed.
6. Artwork scanning for fundraising — professional imaging of paintings so prints can be sold without losing the originals.
Funding goal & budget
• Legal fees & motions: $45,000
• Expert evaluations & records retrieval: $12,000
• Medical bills & specialist visits: $8,000
• Travel & visitation: $4,000
• Evidence preservation & outreach: $3,000
• Professional imaging of paintings so prints can be sold without losing the originals: $800
Campaign target: $72,800
Transparency & proof
I want to be clear about where funds go and how this fight unfolds. Donors will see regular updates with records, images, and progress. I am also investing in professional scans of my artwork so that my story and my sons' story can be told through art as well as words. Once the scans are complete, I will upload them to my social media pages. Anyone can follow along there for updates, proof, and to see the art that fuels this fight. I will also offer discounted reproductions of my artwork for supporters who want to carry a piece of this journey with them.
July 27, 2025 - Jaden
A plea from a mother
I have spent my life protecting my sons. I have been forced to fight every system meant to help them. I am not asking for sympathy — I am asking for justice, for transparency, and for help to bring my boys back to the life they know and need. If you cannot give, please share this campaign. If you can give even a small amount, it will be used to directly fight for their return and to document how systems failed us so it doesn’t happen to another family.
Thank you
From the bottom of my heart — thank you for reading, sharing, and standing with us. — Natalie Anwar
August 26, 2025 - Aidan
July 30, 2025 - Braden
July 23, 2025 - Aidan (Goodrich, MI)
July 29, 2025 - Braden
December 4, 2024 - Jaden, Braden, and Aidan happy at home (when staff was adequate)
