Adamantium wrote:
mmcool wrote:
A few years ago i hit and scratched 2 policeman but no one pressed charges on me.
I want to face the law if i do something wrong.
I hate people using my autism as a get out of jail free card.
How often do people actually use your autism as a "get out of jail free card?"
Like it or not, the reality is that autism is defined by abnormal behavioral patterns. People are assessed and diagnosed only if they are behaving in atypical ways that fit the diagnostic criteria.
Meltdowns are not a universal trait, but some autistic people DO melt down and this is not just a matter of choosing to misbehave or throw a tantrum for effect--there is a cognitive process going on that makes this behavior qualitatively different than the same behavior would be in a non-autisitc person. Understanding that difference means that behavior that would be condemned in a neurotypical person should be forgiven in an autistic person if the behavior is the result of that neurology.
You may feel that you were given unfairly lenient treatment, but it makes sense for police to take this approach when they don't know what is going on but can see that there are neurological differences in the offender. A majority of people don't want to live in a world where people are punished for their neurological differences.
I am pretty sure that if you had hit them very hard or hurt them badly they would have beaten you severely or killed you in the process of restraining you, so the whole incident is probably much bigger in your estimation than in theirs.
In any case, it sounds like they made a reasonable choice and I am not sure why this is bothering you or what you mean when talking about this "card?"
Are people giving you all sorts of other breaks you don't deserve?
Or is it just the idea that autism is really consequential--really makes a difference and sets you apart--that you don't like?
Couldn't have said it better myself! The fact mmcool, as Adamantium said, is that you have neurological differences that caused you to have a meltdown (If that's what happened). Again, I believe the officers were aware and understanding of this fact and therefore gave you a break which, as I said, I admire.
I heard you say, mmcool, that you are high functioning. Well being high functioning doesn't mean 100% able to control your behaviors; If you could, it wouldn't be a disorder. You really should be glad that the officers cared enough about and were understanding of the fact that your actions were likely a result of your neurological differences and that you had no intention of deliberately causing harm to the officers. I can kind of understand you being upset if your actions would have been deliberate and unrelated to autism and they still would have let you go because they thought it was the autism, but since you do have genuine neurological differences and truly didn't mean to to what you did, you should honestly be grateful, because it means there are still officers out there who care.
06 Sep 2014, 2:58 am
