Drunkenness and Demonic Possession Are Not Autism

A Newfoundland teenager was wrongfully jailed by police who "mistook his autistic behaviour for intoxication," today's Edmonton Sun reports. Diane Spurrell, the teenager's mother, said that her 18-year-old son, Dane, who is on the autism spectrum, was returning home from a video store when he was apprehended by police. He was walking beside the road when police told him to get on the sidewalk:

Spurrell told the CBC that after her son told officers there was no sidewalk in that area, they asked to smell his breath, and he resisted.

Spurrell says police did not give him a chance to explain himself and denied him an opportunity to phone her.

Some basic training in autism---such as that provided by Dennis Debbaudt---might have made a difference in this situation, especially with the police understanding Dane's behaviors. Says Dane in a CBC story:

Spurrell said he explained there was no sidewalk in that area, and soon after, the police asked to smell his breath.

"Because of the way that I am, they just assumed … I was drunk — [because of] the way that I was walking and speaking," he said.

Spurrell admits he resisted the police because he felt he hadn't done anything wrong.

"They were like, 'Get in the car.' They were grabbing me and tossing me around and shaking me, and eventually, they got me down on the ground," he said.

Another recently reported incident further suggests how misperceptions of autism can lead to unfortunate (understatement) consequences. In Indiana, Eddie Uyesugi has been convicted of felony charges of battery and criminal confinement during an "exorcism," today's IndyChannel reports. Uyesugi said that he was trying to cast out demons from the 14-year-old boy, who is autistic:

Uyesugi testified during his trial that he genuinely was trying to help the Bloomington boy and punched him in the face and chest to restrain him during the 2007 ceremony.

He was a minister in training at Cherry Hill Christian Center in Bloomington, but its pastors testified that Uyesugi's actions were inappropriate. Testimony showed the boy's grandmother sought the exorcism for the teen, who sustained bruises and two black eyes.

Uyesugi faces two to eight year prison terms on each count.

So here is autism seen as (1) drunkenness and (2) possession by demons, by law enforcement and emergency responders and by a minister in training----two accounts of serious misunderstandings of what autism and their consequences, and both during Autism Awareness Month. Clearly we've got a long long way to go with real awareness; with real understanding about autism and about individuals on the autism spectrum.