A Sunnyvale woman who told a neighbor she felt overwhelmed by caring for her adult autistic son shot him to death before turning her gun on herself, authorities said Wednesday.

Elizabeth Hodgins, 53, shot her son, George Hodgins, 22, on Tuesday in a bedroom of their home on the 800 block of Nectarine Avenue, according to police and neighbors.

Elizabeth's husband, Lester Hodgins, discovered the bodies when he returned home from work about 7:45 p.m., said Capt. Dave Verbrugge of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.

Heather Jauch, a neighbor of five years, said Elizabeth Hodgins had recently told Jauch's mother that she felt overwhelmed caring for her son.

"It can pretty much be a daunting challenge," Jauch said.

The shooting devastated staffers at the Morgan Autism Center in San Jose, which George Hodgins attended from age 6 until late last year, said the center's executive director, Jennifer Sullivan.

She said the young man was "a delight" but did not speak or communicate much, even with a tablet device that allowed him to express some of his needs. He had his pleasures, though, like walking through shopping malls and stopping at the Disney Store.

"We've all been shell-shocked today," Sullivan said. "He was a good kid, a very good kid. He loved to be outdoors, he loved hiking and walking and doing things like that."

Sullivan said she and her staff had never seen signs that Elizabeth Hodgins would resort to violence. She and her husband dropped off their son and picked him up every day, Sullivan said, before deciding last year to give him more time out in the community.

"We wish we had known she was feeling this desperate, because we would have done what we could to help her," Sullivan said.

"But let me tell you," she said, "parents of kids with autism are under a terrific amount of stress. Many of these children don't sleep at night. They wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, and one of the parents has to get up, because they need constant supervision. It's an exhausting experience."

After the autism center sent a note to its parents about the shooting, Sullivan said, "I got back lots and lots of comments saying, 'We have all been there,' and, 'We've seen the black hole.' There's no question these children are difficult, and these families need help."

Parents of autistic children can focus so much on day-to-day tasks that they rarely look ahead at their future, Sullivan said.

"Then it hits them," she said. " 'My child is going to be with me.' They ask, 'When is it going to end?' But it doesn't."

Peter Bell, executive vice president of programs and services at Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group, agreed that caring for an autistic young adult can be difficult for parents.

Bell, who has a 19-year-old autistic son, said a new California law that would require most health insurers to cover autism treatment will take effect July 1.

"Treatments can break up the day-to-day grind of having someone always at home," Bell said.