More On Mistaking Disability for Drunkenness--Dangerously

by Dora Raymaker · 2009-04-23 16:00:00 UTC
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close up of the outside bars of a jail cell, taken at a skewed angle. sign above cell reads 'C2'Over the weekend I posted on the UK man whose CP was mistaken for drunkenness, and now this report from Canada on a man whose autism was mistaken for drunkenness--and he was jailed for it. This second situation points out that the consequences of the lack of understanding of disability on the part of the public can have seriously dangerous, perhaps life-threatening implications.

If being denied access to a bar for being disabled doesn't sound bad enough to inspire some social change, perhaps being wrongfully arrested and jailed for being disabled will be more of a wake-up call. Our communities have a lot to learn about people with disabilities.

Dora Raymaker
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