Estée KlarThe Joy of Autism

Wow… the story just makes me sad. So often there is this assumption that a person is acting a certain way purposely. Eye contact, physical tics… hopefully one day society will learn to think about the bigger picture instead of just assuming. After all, you know what they say about assuming!

Horrifying!! cannot imagine what the kid must be going through the whole night in the cell with change in routine and nobody understanding him…sheesh!

I think if I ever went accross the pond I would be arrested for being English and for being Eccentric, this is really Winston Cadogo territory, if one recalls the satirical skit where a black guy is arrested for a number of trumped up charges all arising out of racial stereotypes such as ‘Possession of curly black hair and thick lips” and
“Walking in a loud shirt in a built-up area during the hours of darkness”

If I ever do visit it will hae to be with a posse of armed guards, all with diplomatic immunity and a zero tolerance shoot to kill and call in an air strike attitude to anyone who violates my integrity.

That is not law enforcement it is petty tyranny, bullying, abuse of power, you name it ……………………….

I have always managed to avoid being arrested for being drunk even when I have been hopelessly and incapably drunk.

At least in Mexico one could slip them a bribe.

Jypsy,

I wonder if it would be possible to contact them some way. I think the Newfoundland police clearly have an obligation to get themselves some training (and pay for it).

I have contacted the NFLD Autism Society, I have not heard back from them.

Reading what happened to Dane Spurrell 15 and also reading the comments posted, I certainly think there’s a lot we should know about having an autistic or disabled child.

I’m a mother of 3 boys and my middle child 15 is Autistic. He was sent to a Juvenile facility for 10 days and house arrest for 182 days awating of the police investigation. I spent the 10 days at the parking lot of the juvenile facility thinking that my baby could be raped or injured, even emotionally he was already affected. The Police prompted into my house and hancoff my autistic child. He didn’t know why he was arrested (his neurologycal age is 7 years old). After the investigation was concluded the police confirmed that my son was indeed, not present the day of the incident and the accusation was false. The School authority and the Police Officer were told since the first moment that my son was Autistic and he was suffering teasing and bulling from his classmates. Who made the false accusation was another disabled child, but ED (Emotionally Disturbed) I did not filed a complaint against the child, but still pending a civil case under the Tort Claim Act against the School District, Police Dept, Juvenile County Court and the Juvenile Det Center. Based on my own experience I founded America for Disabled children, we are a private non for profit organization provinding funds to help the parents with any legal process when a disabled child is involved.

The rates of disabled children among the Juvenile Justice System is been stimated to be 60-70 percent. Aprox 100,000 disabled children (youth) between 12-17 year old are sent to correctional facilities each year. Recently it was posted an article about corrupted judges in PA where 4- 6 judges are being prosecuted for “jailing kids for cash” also check “judges Plead Guilty in scheme to Jail Youth for Profits” ($2.6 millions for sending 5,000 children to jail) The Public School District have a lot to do with our disabled children as well. Based on the cero tolerance code of conduct and without previous behavioral planning been implemented the Public Schools are also sending our disabled children to Juveniles Detention Centers. According to records a disabled child attends 3 times a Correctional facility before leaving the high school. Check “The Jailhousing to Schoolhousing pipeline”. When a disabled child is sent to jail, the school district receives extra budget in order to assist the child with extra therapy, counceling and most of the time houseschooling, the stimated amount of money received is $32,000.00 per each encarcerated disabled child.
All the private companies involved with youth and Juvenile Courts are very profitables. In PA tens of millions of dollars were paid to private instutitions that assisted aprox 5,000 children that were encarcerated without not reason.
The problem we are facing doesn’t belong to any specific social class. Rich, medium and low income families having a classified disabled child needed to take action in protecting the family member that for all of us is a treasure. Those children are pures and innocents but are very profitable for a corrupted system. New Jersey has the highest rate of Autism, every 96 children 1 is autistic. It’s scared to think what will happened to our kids if one day we can’t be with them. America for disabled children is trying to fund the transition of a classified disabled child from the public school system to a private therapeutic school in orden to prevent the disabled child for being encarcerated for activities or comments related to their own disabilities. Let’s get united, let’s advocate for our children. Let’s demand our Goverments respect for our disabled children and to stop the corruption. I can not let another child go though the traumatic experience my son went through. Please let’s get united for the safety and future of our disabled children. Don’t let anybody to stop your child’s progress.

I believe that Miss Amanda Baggs has complained about being busted for “Walking While Autistic.” M’self, I’ve been accosted by the local badge-bearers for “walking while normal.” Naples, FL, walking home from church service at just about sundown, carrying a suspectable package (gallon of cow’s milk) about a block away from home.

You don’t have to be a criminal, or even an autie these days, to get crossways with the cops.

Sometimes I think that the more paranoid of the gunbloggers have the right of it, that the cops ARE the standing army the Founders warned us against.

Oh, and Larry, if you and I ever meet, I’ll be happy to buy you a pint or three.

While what happened to Dane was horrifying and should not have happened, please allow me, in the interest of fairness and honesty to correct the following. Dane is 18 and I did not know he was in custody and could not plead for him.

Thanks for commenting and clarifying, Diane. Your story is an important one, however, in ensuring that police understand the nature of autistic people. I hope you and Dane are both well now.