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Curriculum developed to boost awareness of developmental disabilities
To many people, unsteadiness in walking and slurred speech mean drunkenness. A person who exhibits this behavior in public might be arrested for public intoxication.
However, unsteadiness and slurred speech may also indicate cerebral palsy, the onset of an epileptic seizure or a developmental disability, and police officers often can't tell the difference between these conditions and intoxication or drug abuse.
The University of North Texas Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work and Addictions has developed a curriculum to educate law enforcement officials about how to interact with persons with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. The project is being supported by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, with funds from the Carl Perkins Advanced Technology Act.
Twenty-five years ago, persons with developmental disabilities were often institutionalized and had little or no contact with others who didn't share their disabilities, says Dr. Donald Louis, project coordinator.
A growing awareness of the rights of people with disabilities to be treated equally by society has resulted in more persons with developmental disabilities becoming visible, he says.
"It was found that those with the most severe disabling conditions needed and benefited the most from integration into the community," Louis says. "Because of community inclusion, the possibilities that law enforcement officers may encounter persons with lifelong disabilities is greater than it has ever been."
Louis says autistic persons who are under stress often exhibit behavior that can be misconstrued as hostile by law enforcement officials. This behavior includes avoiding eye contact, resisting physical touch, throwing tantrums, laughing or crying at inappropriate times and responding slowly to commands, if at all.
Police may also believe a person who is having an epileptic seizure is a person abusing drugs or a person who is hearing impaired is a hostile person who is consciously ignoring officers' commands, says Rosalva Resendiz, a UNT doctoral student and co-author of the manual.
When officers misinterpret behavior from a disability, they may arrest the person, Louis says.
"Such response is humiliating to all persons involved, and may lead to unwanted injury and lawsuits," he says. "In a few instances, the failure to recognize a developmental disability has had fatal outcomes."
In 1995, an officer in Plano, Texas, shot and killed a 15-year-old autistic boy who allegedly lunged at him with a knife. The boy, who ignored the officer's oral commands to drop the knife, may have charged at the officer out of stress and fear, not confrontation, Plano mental health officials told The Dallas Morning News.
Louis says Texas law enforcement officials currently complete eight hours of classes on mental illness as part of their police academy training, but this training focuses on schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, not developmental disabilities.
The new curriculum describes mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, epilepsy and autism, and provides information on distinguishing these conditions from other conditions. The curriculum also suggests ways to communicate better with persons with developmental disabilities.
The curriculum was successfully tested at the UNT police academy this past spring. It will now be made available to all 105 academies in Texas through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, Officer Standards and Education, Louis says.
He hopes the curriculum will also be used in the training of jailers and judges.
"This project has called attention to the fact that the criminal justice system has two other equally important components: corrections and courts," he says. "For persons with developmental disabilities to experience equal justice, personnel from these two sectors must also be trained."
Persons with developmental disabilities who are accused of crimes often can't advocate for themselves, he says.
"Every effort must be made to determine whether an individual's mental impairments and functional limitations rule against his or her coming to trial. Judges are often the last catching net for someone who is falsely accused," Louis says.
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Nancy Kolsti (940) 565-3509
Email: nkolsti@unt.edu
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