What Happens to Autistic People in Prison?

April 24, 2017January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

What happens to autistic people in prison? We spoke with Clare Hughes, the Criminal Justice Coordinator for the United Kingdom’s National Autistic Society, about the unique experiences of and considerations for incarcerated autistic people. Clare has been leading on the NAS’s work expanding its accreditation programme to police forces, prisons, and probation services. Note that while some discussed issues are UK-specific, many can be generalized. Photo © Dave Nakayama/Creative Commons license [image: Prison cell bars, with the background cell itself slightly out of focus.] Clare Hughes: We don’t know how many autistic people there are in prison in the UK: information about people diagnosed with autism isn’t collected routinely for the general population, let alone for prisoners, and many will be undiagnosed. HM Young Offender Institution (YOI) and Prison at Feltham diagnose young people in the prison, if they are there long enough. In February 2016, they identified that 4.5% of…

Disability

Best Autism Conference Ever: The UK National Autistic Society’s Professional Conference 2014

March 5, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com I had no idea autism acceptance and understanding in the UK were so much more culturally ingrained than in the US. Granted, there is still much work to do, and government cutbacks in housing for people with disabilities continue, etc. But the disconnect was shocking. And, I was told, much of it had to do with the National Health Service covering autistic people’s needs as a matter of course. Families don’t need to worry about paying for autism services; they need to worry about getting their kids and family members and selves appropriate services. As a result, according an American parent friend who lives in Yorkshire, there is much less of the catastrophizing of autism than we see in the States. I witnessed these attitudes and approaches during the National Autistic Society‘s (NAS) Professional Conference 2014 in Harrogate. I saw an effective national autism organization…

Disability

NAS Professional Conference 14: Dr. Stephen Tyler on Severe Challenging Behaviour

March 4, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

NAS Professional Conference 14: Dr. Stephen Tyler Storify by Shannon Rosa Wed, Mar 05 2014 21:04:31 Edit NAS Professional Conference 14: Dr. Stephen Tyler A compilation of live tweets from Dr. Tyler’s presentation Severe Challenging Behaviour: Impact, Perceptions and Support at the National Autistic Society’s Professional Conference 2014 in Harrogate, UK. Any errors or omissions are my own. – Shannon Rosa@shannonrosa Listening to Dr. Stephen Tyler on Severe Challenging Behaviour: Impact, Perceptions & Support. #NASprof14 #autism Tue, Mar 04 2014 16:19:27 ReplyRetweetFavorite Shannon Rosa@shannonrosa Stages of ignorance include: Innocence, where you’re sure you can learn. #NASprof14 Tue, Mar 04 2014 16:20:41 ReplyRetweetFavorite Shannon Rosa@shannonrosa The final stage of ignorance: You know you don’t know, other people know you don’t know, & that’s OK. #NASprof14 #autism Tue, Mar 04 2014 16:22:36 ReplyRetweetFavorite Shannon Rosa@shannonrosa “Challenging” behaviors often happen when #autistic people are caught by surprise. #NASprof14 Tue, Mar 04 2014 16:26:09…