Police Dashcam Captures "Real Autism" for Thousands of Families
Before you go bashing me (Kim) for claiming other forms of autism are not real, you know darn well that's not my intention.This video captures the intense fear, lack of training for police who are just trying to do their job, safety issues, parental stress,wandering problem and more. Can you watch this without your heart breaking? It's ugly. It's frightening. It's real. And for thousands of families, it's autism. Tomorrow could it be your child?
From Tom Wait at WXYZ in Michigan, check out the comments (some quite nasty) and add your own, HERE.
LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Livonia mother is lashing out at police, criticizing them for the way they treated her severely autistic 11-year-old son. Julia, who asked that we not use her last name, showed Action News police dashcam video of her son, Victor, in a patrol car May 2nd. The 11-year-old was taken into custody after running away from Riley Middle School. The video shows the 11-year-old handcuffed in the back seat of the squad car hysterical – screaming and banging his head against the window. Over the course of several minutes police ignore Victor, but then come back to the car and put a seatbelt on him to stop him from smashing his head against the glass.
Livonia Police would not go on camera with us but said off camera that officers did what they were trained to do when they have custody of someone with a mental disability. For example, the officers say they repeatedly told Victor that they were trying to find his mother in the hopes that a “familiar” would calm him down. And as for why he was handcuffed, according to the police report Victor was kicking as officers tried to restrain him. They say he almost ran into traffic on 5 Mile near his school. Victor’s mother says police treated her son like a criminal. “I was so traumatized when I saw the video. I don’t believe they had the proper training to deal with severe autism,” Julia said. Julia says her son ran away from school last week because of sensory overload, a symptom of his condition. In the police report school officials questioned whether Julia was properly medicating her son. Julia told Action News she has not made any major changes to his treatment.
I see this from both perspectives. The police, probably poorly trained in these situations, handcuffed him not understanding that that's what spawned his self-injurious behavior. Then, they futher restrained him with the seatbelt to prevent him from injurying his head...probably knowing very little about head-banging.
Yes, more training is essential, but I don't see any abuse on their parts and it appears they tried to help. Had they not intervened when they did, it could have resulted in far worse.
Posted by: Sockit Mama | May 18, 2011 at 08:56 PM
Why didn't the child have an aide that accompanies him everywhere he goes at school? I know this may not have stopped him from getting away, but at least he would have had someone there who he was familiar with & he may not have responded like that.This is just sad. The police need more training on how to deal with autistic individuals. Perhaps handcuffs wern't the best restraint for the boy.
Posted by: Amy Rhodes | May 16, 2011 at 12:22 PM
this child looks like he was put on depokote, lamictal or keppra. My son reacted violently to those medications, and later I found lamictal was being investigated for causing some cases of aseptic meningitis. These drugs are nothing to fool with. My son had a period there where we truly felt like we were losing him to dementia. Please, get your child tested for brain inflammation. Nitrotyrosine levels and ammonia levels are indicators. Pronto, put them, if you can, I know expensive, on Alpha keto glutaric acid to bind the ammonia, and varying brain inflammation buster strategies, even a daily dose of ibuprofin if you have to. Also check your children for silent but deadly seizures, and even heart issues like poor conduction (echocardiogram and monitor). These cause vagul nerve brake problems, and sometimes violence in our kids. Also check his thyroid function and levels of high testosterone. Go after infections too...lyme can cause SEVERE aggression. I also like minocycline for brain inflammation as well. The ketogenic diet works, never overlook the obvious as well.
Posted by: kathy blanco | May 15, 2011 at 01:07 PM
It worries me about my son who is 13 too. What would happen if he had an encounter with the police? He is high functioning, so in most regards appears normal. I think it is time the medical community started issuing medic alert bracelets for autistic individuals.
Posted by: Belinda | May 15, 2011 at 12:57 PM
In the UK, schools are legally 'in locum parentis'. This makes them legally responsible for the child during school hours, unless a parent or 'responsible adult' collects them. This still applies, even if a child runs away from school. (This should NOT be allowed to happen, particularly with very young or vulnerable special needs children).
Every school in the UK should have specially designated staff members with responsibility for child welfare in an emergency. In my local Scottish schools parents MUST provide 2 emergency contact telephone numbers for 'responsible adults' to come to the schools and collect children who become ill or are involved in an accident on school premises.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | May 15, 2011 at 05:47 AM
It seemed that there was an open doorway out of the schoolyard onto the road. Maybe a locked gate can be put in place as a deterent?
It is hard to deal with our kids but I think people deal with them even worse because they are dehumanized. Most people don't have a clue what sensory overload is or how much our kids suffer from it. The poor boy.
Jenny, I noticed the flowergirl at the Royal Wedding too. She covered her ears and tantrummed a few times.
Posted by: tiredmom | May 14, 2011 at 07:58 PM
I think the police did the best they could to keep Victor safe and restrained until they could locate his mother. I know that with two daughters on the spectrum, I am reachable at all times. And if I couldn't get somewhere, I could at least guide the police in how to handle it. Yes, it is stressful to be on call every minute, but I would not want my daughters to go through this. That poor boy must have been terrified. Also, how the heck did the school let him escape? That is ridiculous!
I was amazed at how verbal he was when interviewed. Shows the range of behaviors one autistic child can have.
We need more funding for programming, more education, more support for parents, and more options for our kids. I think we do this best by explaining how difficult it can be, BUT ALSO highlighting how sweet and wonderful and innocent our kids. People don't want to help someone who scares them.
Posted by: Mom of two girls with autism, AKA Eileen | May 14, 2011 at 07:05 PM
I'm as terrified as you are, Kristine. My son has meltdowns at least as horrible as this child (actually, worse) despite nearly a decade of biomed, special diets, and therapies. If my son ever managed to get out of our sight, I have no doubt he would end up in the back of squad car.
I don't know what the solution is. All I know is I had better never ever die.
Posted by: Donna L. | May 14, 2011 at 06:28 PM
I know its not the best, what happened. But I am glad the police were able to catch Victor, before he got hit by a car. He could have been seriously injuried or worse. I am also glad the police did not tazer Victor.
Maybe this can be a new beginning for the police dept in that town, to learn how to deal
with ASD children/ adults.
The school needs to take steps how to keep this boy from running off into harms
way.
Posted by: Allie90 | May 14, 2011 at 06:26 PM
This type of thing and the sentiments Anne Daschel expressed (very true that they are) keep me awake at night. For every ONE child whose parents are fighting with everything they have to secure proper medical care and education for their child with autism (sometimes not even successfully), there are probably another FIVE children who don't have access to those treatments and education (for a wide variety of reasons). What will happen to our kids? These are not the young adults with cognitive disabilities who bag your groceries or sort mail. They can be dangerous to themselves and others, they can be violent and unpredictable. Yes, they can be computer nerds and PhDs but that is not what I'm talking about here. I'm sick to think about it.
We've had our own run-ins with law enforcement and it was NOT good. They had no understanding of autism. The first time, my son was only 4 years old and had "run" from home and we had to call 911. The officer asked me if we'd had a fight and that's why he ran. What? Come on. Then when I explained autism elopement, he said "well, this cannot continue, he could get snatched or hit by a car. he probably doesn't know about crossing streets because he's only four." Honestly I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Instead I said, "no he doesn't know about crossing streets. he doesn't even know you are here in his house, look at him, he has no language and zero awareness of basically anything at all. so no he doesn't know the difference between a street and a sidewalk. and yes he could get hit by a car, he could drown in that retaining pond, he could fall off a retaining wall...." Wake up people! Watching this video, I thank God that my son was only 4 and maybe 35lbs, or he'd probably have been cuffed and restrained too. Like all of the autism-related deaths, I expect we will see more of this. And let the backlash roll in, this will be blamed squarely on the parents and even the disabled children themselves.
Posted by: Kristine | May 14, 2011 at 02:43 PM
This wouldn't have happened in the UK, where shackling of any kind is uncommon and where the use any but the gentlest physical restraint for children is frowned upon. It looks like Victor's sheer bulk at 11 is already causing a problem, and is all too likely related to his medication. On the other hand he is probably not getting adequate support (otherwise the incident would not have occured).
Posted by: John Stone | May 14, 2011 at 12:06 PM
Well, it looks like the mother and the son are lucky - he is not severe. Something happened to set him off, and the police well what could they all do different? Could they hae calmed him down or was he already to hyped up and running into traffic......?
1.) When my son was that age I read what Dr. Rhimland had to say on the internet and I was unsure if he was right, I did get my son zyloft like Dr. Rhimland said, but the white flour - well an allergy to the major food group - I didn't beleive him! I am so sorry I did not.
2.) When my son was that age - Dr. Atkins book came out about low glycemic diet and was laughed at by the medical profession. The medical profession recommemded to cut back all the fat, while another doctor that was accepted by the medical profession wrote a book about pouring oat bran in with the white flour, and eat lots of carbs because it was okay as long as there was no fat except a little olive oil.
3.) At that age my son was starting the jerking, the standing - looking lost in the room , tugging at the bottom of his shirt, or strange spells were he bit his tongue almost into. I found the Ketonic diet and thought perhaps I should put him on it? I had no idea how or if it was similiar to Dr. Rhimland's or Dr. Atkin's, but I was told by the peds and the neuro-peds again and again that there were no seizures, no epilespy; and thus no problem except perhaps tourettes. The doctors all would smile their condenscending smiles, when I mentioned the ketogenic diet. "Oh, a diet from the 1930s - before seizure medicines?" They would sometime hide their smile a bit as they turned to tap on the glass of the 500 gallon exotic, salt water, fish tank that set behind their huge maghony desk.
4.) At that age, my husband had been dignosed with an acquired mitochondria disorder for quite a while, and like a dummie I did not get that it was what our children had too. So I skimmed over the massive amount of stuff that my husband printed out on the internet to try to help him. But really other than cutting back the fats, throwing oat bran into everything and spending 300 dollars a month for co-enzyme Q 10, lots of a in killer called ultram, and lots of ibophrophene-- oh and tylenol for the kiddos - even though the asprin worked so much better, that was about it. --- OH, well I did notice in the article on mitrochondria disfunctions that Depokote was one of the seizure drugs that was "NOT" suppose to be used, but they didn't know why. More importantly I missed what the article meant by the way they worded the type of diet my husband should eat. My husband did too and since he was brilliant and I was wore out, I took his word for it that he should eat lots of little meals of high carbs. Oh dear!
I would like to add - that a few years later I reread that and that was the opposite of what they meant. Soooo are scientist and medical people that write this stuff just so really smart that the rest of us can't understand, or do they try to prove how smart they are to the point of not communicating?????
5.)I sure hope the Mother to this 11 year old - please - please - please - If I could do it all over again (besides NOT getting the DPT shots or Hep Bs of course) I would, oh but I would get Dr. Atkins book, get that sweet 11 year old on 20 carbs a day and teach him what he can and cannot eat - It is easier to do at 11 than 17.
Posted by: Benedetta | May 14, 2011 at 11:48 AM
There is a specialist who trains law enforcement personnel how best to deal with these exact situations.
http://www.autismriskmanagement.com/index.cfm
Posted by: Media Scholar | May 14, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Thank you Kim for putting this out. This is the face of autism we never see in news stories showing smiling high functioning kids. The public is left with the idea that autism's not so bad. These kids seem typical.
Can you image what it's like for the police who have never seen anyone having a huge meltdown?
We're a world totally unprepared to handle these kids. I can only imagine the horrible future when children like this are adults.
Anne Dachel
Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | May 14, 2011 at 09:58 AM
I feel so sorry for this poor traumatised child and his mother, BUT I am also very sympathetic towards the police. In cases like this they are 'damned if they do and damned if they don't'.
I know only too well how very difficult it can be to keep an autistic child safe. My grandson had a propensity to suddenly run into the middle of busy roads, and he would also try to open car doors whilst the car was in motion!! (Thank God for childproof locks, but he was quite capable of opening the car windows!) In the Science Museum, in London, he almost fell from the 3rd floor balcony, so fascinated was he in the collection of steam engines displayed on the ground floor below. We NEVER knew what he was about to do until he did it!! These children are unpredictable.
The police did what they thought was appropriate at the time to keep this child physically safe. I feel the child's school appears to have shown a lack of understanding and insight into this child's distress at whatever sensory stimulus led to the 'overload', but as a teacher myself I know that there is presently very little autism training for teachers in the UK at least, unless the teachers opt to specialise within the field of 'special educational needs'.
(Those who watched the recent Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine, might have noticed the little girl attendant who put her hands over her ears during the RAF flypast. She was obviously very distressed by the noise.)
Certainly, a great deal more 'education' is required for all concerned with child autism issues.
Posted by: Jenny Allan | May 14, 2011 at 07:12 AM
I think I need to throw up now, devistating and I have no answers.
Posted by: Heather | May 14, 2011 at 05:52 AM