Stanley Thornton, Jr. eats his dinner in his personalized highchair while in his baby bib and pajamas at his home in Redding, Calif. (© Jeremy Adair/Beyond Productions)

The California man who lives his life as an “adult baby,” complete with adult diapers, bottles, a crib and a mother-figure caregiver, says he has been cleared from suspicion of Social Security fraud and will continue to receive his disability checks.

Stanley Thornton, Jr. has a condition called paraphilic infantilism that involves role-playing as an infant. Though paraphilic infantilism is a sexual fetish for some, Thornton explains on his website that he pretends to be a baby because it makes him feel “safe” and helps him cope with the post traumatic stress he suffers from physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a child.

After Thornton’s lifestyle was showcased on National Geographic’s television show “Taboo,” Sen.  Tom Coburn, R-Okla., accused him of defrauding Social Security  because the episode shows him exhibiting work skills such as building a high chair and operating his website.

John Hart, a spokesman for Coburn, told the Washington Times that the senator, also a doctor, questioned how  “a grown man who is able to design and build adult-sized baby furniture is eligible for disability benefits.”

Faced with the possibility of losing his source of income, Thornton threatened suicide when questioned on the matter by the Times.

In August, however, Thornton reported on his website that his disability had been cleared and the Social Security administration confirmed that his disabilities are “continuing.” He will continue to receive the $860 monthly checks from the agency that he lives on.

In the same post on his website, Thornton defends his reasons for being on disability.

“I am not getting disability because I am a Adult Baby. No one can get on disability because they are a Adult Baby. I am on disability for legit, tested and well documented illnesses [such as] PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), depression, bipolar 2, spinal injury, heart problems…my role playing is a way for me to relax, not a disability that is being claimed for a disability.”