NEWSGosselin Family Book Author Has No 'Difficulty' Believing Kate Institutionalized Son Collin to Hide Alleged Abuse
Kate Gosselin has been accused of abusing son Collin.
A Gosselin family book author revealed her opinions on the latest accusations against former television star Kate Gosselin.
Following 20-year-old Collin Gosselin's claims that his mother had him institutionalized after he began speaking with teachers about allegedly being abused at home, Jon and Kate Plus Eight: 'Reality' TV & the Selling of the Gosselins writer Polly Kahl admitted she didn't "have difficulty" believing that story.
Polly Kahl wrote a book on the Gosselin family in 2011.
As OK! previously reported, Kate insisted Collin was "violent" as a young boy and stated he'd been diagnosed with a wide array of behavioral disorders and developmental conditions. These reportedly included autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and PTSD. He was eventually sent to an in-patient mental health facility for two years.
During an interview with NewsNation's Ashley Banfield, Polly said that some of those diagnoses were "probably accurate" at the time, specifically, "PTSD from being on the show and from things at home."
Collin Gosselin claimed his mother tied him up and locked him in a basement as a child.
She noted that she didn't sense that Collin suffered from oppositional defiant disorder as a boy, noting there was "never any evidence of him behaving badly" on the TLC series.
"I think that he was treated badly, and any bad behavior he had was probably a result of him being treated differently from the other children," Polly added.
Kate Gosselin made a post claiming that Collin had been 'violent' to his siblings.
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The author also said she couldn't "imagine" Collin was as "troubled" as Kate has made him out to be, before bringing up the 20-year-old's accusations that the 49-year-old had allegedly bound his limbs and locked him in a dark basement as a child.
"She implies that he's violent and a danger to other people and animals," she continued. "Even if that were true, there, no prescription would include locking a child in a secluded area and zip-tying their hands and feet together."
Jon Gosselin got sole custody of Collin Gosselin in 2018.
Referencing Collin's past allegations about additionally not being allowed to eat or play with his other siblings, Polly suggested being treated "not only differently" but "much worse" than his brothers and sisters could have had affected his behavior and overall view of himself.
"He got a lesson over a period of time that he was not as worthy ... not loved as much, and didn't deserve ... good treatment, as well as his siblings did," she concluded.
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Earlier this month, Collin also implied his mother was partially responsible for him getting discharged unexpectedly from the military after she made a viral post that said he had multiple psychiatric diagnoses.
Collin explained confusion about the accuracy of her post "ultimately led to" his separation, as he wasn't immediately able to prove the allegations were false until after he returned home.
"And that's when I sought out to get a professional psychiatric evaluation done," he said at the time. "That ultimately ruled out all of these diagnoses."
