I've been out of the loop for a bit. As most of you know, recently my son had
open heart surgery to repair his AVSD. I haven't been around in the online scene as of late which has been troubling me.
What's troubled me more is a current shift in thinking, especially when it comes to the events following the death of Ethan Saylor. I was saddened to come back from my hospital hiatus to see that not only some advocates, but even some of the major organizations are pushing towards "Down syndrome specific training" for police and first responders.
I'm not going to beat around the bush: I think this is really a misguided application of energy. One in fact, that may undo years of hard won advances with Down syndrome advocacy. There are a few reasons for this, some of which I'm sure haven't been considered by those who are pushing for it.
Firstly, who decides what subjects are taught or what aspects of Down syndrome will be highlighted in this training? What does this proposed training involve? Not too long ago, the community was rocked by a supposed "nursing" site posting an old
image caricature of an infant with Down syndrome. Many of the "conditions" presented were irrelevant, occur in the greater population at random and have no bearing on quality of life. What will affect a person with DS life are things like heart disease, which the general population also has and in
much greater numbers. There are umpteen studies showing that positional asphyxiation is a reality. Law enforcement and any person using restraint (including us psych folk) are well aware of this. Every single document, every single video that I have come across in my search clearly outlines the danger of positional asphyxiation. A person with DS is in danger of dying when restrained face down on the ground, yes.
So is everyone else. Except in Maryland, apparently. The reality is, these deputies knew the dangers and chose to ignore them, or quite frankly, simply didn't care.
Secondly, who is qualified to teach 'Down syndrome specific training'? Physicians? Lawyers? Other law enforcement? The National "Advocacy" Organizations? Training also needs constant updating and re-certification. Who designs these courses, who are the supposed
experts here? Who accredits them? From what sources does their information come from? If you remove the
money from the equation (as people will have to be
paid to come up with this course material, train the target audience, maintain the certification and audit those with the training), who really benefits from this training? The officers, who will look at it as one more thing to endure to get their superiors off their case for one more year? With that in mind, will these strategies really get incorporated into everyday use?
Thirdly, and most importantly is the glaringly obvious thing that people are missing:
By advocating for Down syndrome specific training, you are further marginalizing those with DS as the "other", as "different" and setting them outside the rest of society.
By stating that people with DS--a population that is as diverse as the greater population it is derived from in the first place--need "special considerations" when being talked to by a police officer, EMS, Firefighter or whoever else you want to extend such "training" to, you are predetermining. You are
profiling, you are
prejudging. People do not fit into neat little boxes.
For example, you cannot deal with every mentally ill person that you encounter identically as
there is a pantheon of symptoms and an equal amount of ways that
communication can break down. The differences are just as numerous and the analogy holds when you are looking at people with developmental delays. Every single person is different; in terms of DS, the extra chromosome
can express itself in a multitude of ways. Some will have sensory issues, most won't. Most will have heart issues, some won't. Making blanket statements about anyone, be they developmentally delayed, mentally ill, of a specific ethnicity, or any other
difference that sets "
them" apart from "
us", is dangerous, marginalizing and opens the door for so much abuse. Relying on gross generalizations in times of crisis is poor preparation and serves and protects no one.
I have a great respect for all law enforcement, not just the officers that I cross paths with in my line of work. I refuse to see police as mindless killing machines who need to be distinctly told not to do something so that all of us can stay safe. The ones in my community certainly aren't, at least not any more. Back in the bad old days... well, I could tell you stories growing up in this region. There is a certain level of education that is required to get in now. There is a certain level of community involvement that is required, you have to be a very well rounded person to be considered, to represent a diverse population safely and with compassion. That isn't something that is taught or possibly can be taught,
it is recruited for.
We need real world solutions, not special training, to keep people like my son from dying at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect him and the rest of my family.
With that in mind, allow me to humbly offer the following:
1) Recognize that a Sheriff is an elected official not simply the "top cop", who can quite easily become as corrupted as any other elected official. Know your candidates and find out their track record prior to them obtaining office. Cast your votes accordingly.
2) Abolish "moonlighting". The deputies who were responsible for the death of Ethan Saylor were moonlighting as mall security, a job that (if our friends in mall security will forgive me) is well below their level of training.
Let me give you an example. As an RN, I am not allowed to work as a Personal Support Worker if I find myself strapped for cash. There is a reason for that: I have a certain skill set, a scope of practice and a specific license. If I were able to take a job below that scope of practice, yet in the same field, it would blur a lot of lines. If I was tending to an elderly client who suddenly developed symptoms that I recognized because I was an RN, I couldn't pretend it wasn't happening because "a PSW wouldn't know that". By the same token, if I used interventions that I know from being an RN, I would not be able to legally justify/use them due to my current employment as a PSW. The lines are too blurry, the jurisdictions too different. I can't be one thing and pretend not to be a couple days a week to work a job with a lower skill set, if only to protect my license and my main livelihood. You shouldn't have active paramilitary personnel working as mall security either. When the three men were called to the scene, they were acting as mall security. Somewhere in there, they decided they were deputies again. Regardless, they sure became deputies again (and invoked all rights and privileges as such) once Ethan was dead.
If I need a little extra cash, I pick up overtime. The police in my area work along the same lines. There are also a lot of paid duty opportunities for police as well. This is why here, you find uniformed officers at ball games, outside construction sites, doing patient watches in hospitals and at the liquor store at Christmas. During such, they are expected to fulfill the responsibilities that their uniform dictates. If malls and whatnot expect a certain level of security, they pay for it. Offer the police a little respect and pay them properly to perform their duties
as police officers. They earned it. Allowing active, trained officers to take lesser skilled jobs in a related field is simply asking for trouble and opens the door for tragedy, as it did in Maryland.
3) Recognize that compassion cannot be taught or encouraged in those that aren't receptive. Recruit accordingly. There are some that go into policing that are angry, have deep set prejudices and too easily cross the line. We all know stories of this, of cops that take it too far. Take
this guy or
this guy, or
this guy. But, for every horror story, I'm betting there are 10 great officers (both men and women) who actually do care about the community they serve. You need more of them in the field, not just in front of the camera when the politicians feel it's appropriate. It is possible to have a general sensitivity towards various cultures and groups and still be able to control a situation (and ultimately ones self). It's been put forth by one blogger that we live an ugly world and if there was more compassion we would not need police or even soldiers as there would be no war. I'm not talking about achieving Utopia here; sometimes force is a necessary evil. However, I guess I'm a bit spoiled coming from Canada. We don't have legions and legions of soldiers. The ones we do have are respected across the globe for their compassion and known as "The World's Peacekeepers". It is possible to be both. The police in my community at least, certainly reflect this.
The idea of "Down syndrome specific training" is ridiculous, insulting and might very well put our advocacy efforts back decades. You cannot train for such a diverse population, as
people with Down syndrome exist in every ethnic, socioeconomic and religious background, not just white, middle class, Christian ones.
Those are the factors that dictate how a person with Down syndrome receives care, is viewed in the community, is treated in their own family and even how the person themselves view law enforcement and first responders.
It is these factors that will shape how a person with Down syndrome will react in a a given situation, not their chromosomes. The idea that my son, who will grow up respecting law enforcement--just like Ethan did--could die of "Down syndrome" and "heart issues" at the hands of law enforcement--just like Ethan did--shakes me to the core. There are a lot of comparisons that I cannot help to make between Ethan and Wyatt; Ethan's Mom is a well known DS advocate too. The idea that sweeping generalizations, by the medical community and by law enforcement, may very well rule my son's future life and death, makes me angry. We cannot hope to change the public perception of people with DS to one of complete inclusion by
making
people with DS the "other" to the very people that are supposed to take care of them. There is no magic list of "things that you need to know when 'dealing' with a developmentally delayed person" other than you are talking to a human being with thoughts, feelings, desires and needs.
Just like everyone else. I cannot stress that enough it seems; that particular point
cannot be lost.
