I think every decision the parents made, considered in isolation, could be justified. But the impression they make, as a whole, is one of parents who failed to set limits for their child, either because the weirdness of his syndrome (and possibly guilt) made them afraid to intervene, or because they were so taken by his hormonal and intellectual maturity that they didn’t recognize that he had the social skills of, well, a nine-year-old.

Yeah, limits can be negotiated, and testing limits is a normal part of adolescence, but the parents have a right and a duty to negotiate from the other side, not just surrender.

(I have three sons, aged seven, five, and three, who don’t know how lucky they are to be cute.)