This is my biggest fear with my brother. He’s special needs, limited vocabulary and it’s looking like he’ll be at least 6ft when he’s an adult. The last thing my family needs is for him to get hurt because some trigger happy cop didn’t like that my bro laughs when he gets anxious.
Enigma-exe on
There are few phrases more bleakly ironic than America’s “land of the free”
tsh87 on
I took several ASL classes when I was college and I remember discussing this with my teacher. She and her family are deaf and it worries her because how is she supposed to comply with orders that she can’t even hear.
Late_For_A_Good_Name on
So real. 5 cops came up to me (because they were looking for someone, and I’m awkward as hell), and the number of times they had to tell me to take my hands out of my pockets… everyone was nervous. Luckily it ended well for me, but shit was that scary
DrNigelThornberry1 on
I teach elementary schoolers on the spectrum I cannot understate how often I think about this.
Toast_Points on
I’ll never get over the fact that the same judges and lawyers who sanctimoniously proclaim that ‘Justice is blind’ will also deny me any form of justice for not wearing the right clothes. That alone invalidates the entire system in my mind, without even getting into all the crimes against humanity they get away with.
manny_the_mage on
not to mention the amount of erasure that exists for black people with special needs
actions and behaviors that are easily explainable get interpreted as threatening
b3nd3r_r0b0t on
That’s what happened to Elijah McClain. He didn’t understand what was going on and didn’t know how to react, an he was killed by the police because he didn’t react right.
Curlyhaired_Wife on
I think about this a lot of for my son, he straight up freezes and goes mute when he gets too overwhelmed. It makes it difficult in new spaces with new people who aren’t familiar with him.
loptopandbingo on
Don’t forget the conflicting orders.
“Stand still and don’t move, but also lay down on the ground with your hands behind your back I SAID DON’T MOVE WHY AREN’T YOU LAYING DOWN”
kadrilan on
I mean, non-autistic folks get fucked by cops too. We all invested in makin the cops less likely to be thuggy fuckups
oldveteranknees on
They want us to know what to do with our bodies when dealing with the cops and react instinctively, as if we’re soldiers in combat engaging the enemy 🤔 most people bug out when they see cops and mentally break down when they have weapons drawn on them and they want the public to react like Leo did in The Revenant FOH
TrinixDMorrison on
It’s crazy how I apparently have to pretend to be scared of cops now if I get pulled over because in the past I was told I’m way too calm and chill around cops, and somehow that made me more suspicious to them.
Satur9_Sweetness on
Not autistic, but have severe mood disorders and PTSD. Has gotten me into a lot of trouble w cops over the years, and even has gotten me arrested. They don’t understand how to deescalate the situation when it’s a mental health issue, they see my behavior as threatening. Then they make it worse by using force which triggers my PTSD. I considered getting a medical alert bracelet in the hopes that it may help in future situations. I hate being treated like a violent criminal when I’m just in mental crisis. More ER, less jail.
Beneficial_Outcomes on
Wasn’t there a case of a child with autism being shot eleven times by a cop because he was running away?
321zilch on
I have ADHD too. I wish I felt like a person to anyone, even amongst my parents, my peers, and my community, but I know that’ll never come to pass. I’ll stick around a few years until my younger sister achieves what I think is a good enough level of economic self-sufficiency, and then I’ll kill myself.
bookhead714 on
Funny, I was talking about this earlier today. Cameron Todd Willingham was executed by Texas in 2004 for allegedly burning his house down and killing his children. He was sentenced partially because he didn’t seem to be properly reacting to the loss — he simply sat on his lawn without moving or speaking.
Evidence has since come out that the fire was not caused by arson. He was murdered by the state because his grief came in a different form than expected.
Many_Feeling_3818 on
This is absolutely true. My capstone was a research paper on police brutality not necessarily due to racial discrimination but due to police officers not being trained well enough on how to deal with people with mental illness or developmental disabilities.
ThurBurtman on
Are autistic children not taught how to react properly in stressful environments? Or is it more “oh he’s autistic they don’t know any better”? Because the latter was how special needs kids were treated when I was growing up
Suitable-Helicopter9 on
“Not reacting correctly” hmmmm
trumpetrabbit on
Especially when we have plenty of evidence that people can respond unexpectedly to dangerous situations. We also have evidence that people’s expectations for how they’d react can be wildly different than how people do react.
High_Clas_Wafl_House on
Hey my dui that tha k fully got dropped after 5 grand and 2 years
22 Comments
This is my biggest fear with my brother. He’s special needs, limited vocabulary and it’s looking like he’ll be at least 6ft when he’s an adult. The last thing my family needs is for him to get hurt because some trigger happy cop didn’t like that my bro laughs when he gets anxious.
There are few phrases more bleakly ironic than America’s “land of the free”
I took several ASL classes when I was college and I remember discussing this with my teacher. She and her family are deaf and it worries her because how is she supposed to comply with orders that she can’t even hear.
So real. 5 cops came up to me (because they were looking for someone, and I’m awkward as hell), and the number of times they had to tell me to take my hands out of my pockets… everyone was nervous. Luckily it ended well for me, but shit was that scary
I teach elementary schoolers on the spectrum I cannot understate how often I think about this.
I’ll never get over the fact that the same judges and lawyers who sanctimoniously proclaim that ‘Justice is blind’ will also deny me any form of justice for not wearing the right clothes. That alone invalidates the entire system in my mind, without even getting into all the crimes against humanity they get away with.
not to mention the amount of erasure that exists for black people with special needs
actions and behaviors that are easily explainable get interpreted as threatening
That’s what happened to Elijah McClain. He didn’t understand what was going on and didn’t know how to react, an he was killed by the police because he didn’t react right.
I think about this a lot of for my son, he straight up freezes and goes mute when he gets too overwhelmed. It makes it difficult in new spaces with new people who aren’t familiar with him.
Don’t forget the conflicting orders.
“Stand still and don’t move, but also lay down on the ground with your hands behind your back I SAID DON’T MOVE WHY AREN’T YOU LAYING DOWN”
I mean, non-autistic folks get fucked by cops too. We all invested in makin the cops less likely to be thuggy fuckups
They want us to know what to do with our bodies when dealing with the cops and react instinctively, as if we’re soldiers in combat engaging the enemy 🤔 most people bug out when they see cops and mentally break down when they have weapons drawn on them and they want the public to react like Leo did in The Revenant FOH
It’s crazy how I apparently have to pretend to be scared of cops now if I get pulled over because in the past I was told I’m way too calm and chill around cops, and somehow that made me more suspicious to them.
Not autistic, but have severe mood disorders and PTSD. Has gotten me into a lot of trouble w cops over the years, and even has gotten me arrested. They don’t understand how to deescalate the situation when it’s a mental health issue, they see my behavior as threatening. Then they make it worse by using force which triggers my PTSD. I considered getting a medical alert bracelet in the hopes that it may help in future situations. I hate being treated like a violent criminal when I’m just in mental crisis. More ER, less jail.
Wasn’t there a case of a child with autism being shot eleven times by a cop because he was running away?
I have ADHD too. I wish I felt like a person to anyone, even amongst my parents, my peers, and my community, but I know that’ll never come to pass. I’ll stick around a few years until my younger sister achieves what I think is a good enough level of economic self-sufficiency, and then I’ll kill myself.
Funny, I was talking about this earlier today. Cameron Todd Willingham was executed by Texas in 2004 for allegedly burning his house down and killing his children. He was sentenced partially because he didn’t seem to be properly reacting to the loss — he simply sat on his lawn without moving or speaking.
Evidence has since come out that the fire was not caused by arson. He was murdered by the state because his grief came in a different form than expected.
This is absolutely true. My capstone was a research paper on police brutality not necessarily due to racial discrimination but due to police officers not being trained well enough on how to deal with people with mental illness or developmental disabilities.
Are autistic children not taught how to react properly in stressful environments? Or is it more “oh he’s autistic they don’t know any better”? Because the latter was how special needs kids were treated when I was growing up
“Not reacting correctly” hmmmm
Especially when we have plenty of evidence that people can respond unexpectedly to dangerous situations. We also have evidence that people’s expectations for how they’d react can be wildly different than how people do react.
Hey my dui that tha k fully got dropped after 5 grand and 2 years