Aspies For Freedom

Warning: This news story may be very distressing to some readers - Stella

Stabbed Woman With Asperger's Urges Special Police Training

By Lisa Gardner
News 8 WMTW
January 24, 2006


AUGUSTA, Maine -- A young woman who was stabbed in the back and had her throat slashed is asking that police undergo more training.

Barbara Kring, of Scarborough, has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism which causes her to react to stress and other cues differently than most people.

She testified in Augusta Monday in favor of a bill that would require police and prosecutors be trained to deal with such developmental disabilities.

Kring told lawmakers that all she wanted was a friend when she and a 15-year-old girl decided to become “blood sisters” last winter.

She told lawmakers, “When I turned my back, she stabbed me in the back through my coat. I remember the pain. I screamed, and she reached out front and slashed my neck. It cut my windpipe, and I was coughing up blood. She then told me she would use my body as a blanket when I was dead and stabbed her own stomach.”

Kring said that when police arrived, the girl who stabbed her told them the two were involved in a suicide pact and that Kring had stabbed herself.

Kring said that because of her Asperger’s, police didn’t listen to her and, instead, bought the other girl’s story. She said that subsequently, newspapers and news stations reported that the stabbing was her fault and that she had tried to kill herself.

She said, “My reputation was ruined by police speculation, and the people of Scarborough were staring at me and would start talking to each other.”

The girl who stabbed Kring was eventually charged with attempted murder.

Kring and others Monday urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it mandatory for all police and prosecutors in Maine to be trained in dealing with people with autism.

While a spokesman for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy said it would be tough to find the time and money for more training, others said people have died due to the lack of this type of training and that it’s worth the extra effort.

Source:  http://www.wmtw.com/news/6395797/detail....t&psp=news

the people of Scarborough were staring at me and would start talking to each other.”

Don't a lot of us get that any way?


In Wales there have been efforts to train police about autism and other conditions.

Greetings,

I really dont think it woudl be a straightforward process at all.

At what point are they supposed to recognise you are on the spectrum?  That is probably not even possible since everyone is different.

At what point would you tell them?

I got stopped and searched by the police a few months ago for 'looking suspicious'.  Its not as if I could have just said something like 'leave me alone I have AS'

The only point where it becomes possible to insert that information is during some interview or investigative process - so why not just have a psychologist present?

In Wales they have produced a card, like a credit card, that states that the carrier is on the autism spectrum, so police would in theory find the card and be made aware.

They could follow their set procedure, at least that's the theory.

I have heard that "The Curious Incident &c" is now required reading on the Metropolitan Police training curriculum, which is all to the good.

Though some will feel Haddon's character Christopher Boone can't be said to represent us all, the story at least gives police officers some idea that a person might behave in an unusual or unexpected way - what might be viewed as "suspicious behaviour" - without actually having any criminal intent or being a "bad person."  A step forward then....

Well, when the police are told "this girl has mental issues", and the other girl says "We had a suicide pact", then they're more inclined to believe the NT since NT's are "right" and mental conditions may be prone to saying the wrong thing (When in fact Aspies are less prone to lying than NTs).

It could also be abused. Imagine if she'd died?

Just another suicidal Aspie would've been chalked up, not attempted murder by an NT who used her AS to discredit her.

Not exactly Gizensha, its plastic like a credit card and is yellow and red, alert colours. My son was given one in school. It states that it is for the attention of the police.

This is info at the time they were given out -
Autism Cymru teams up with North Wales police to produce Emergency Services ASD Attention Card

ABERYSTWYTH, Wales: A card which will alert the emergency services to the needs of people with autism is to be launched jointly by Autism Cymru and North Wales police on October 31.

The Emergency Services ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) Attention Card is the size of a credit card and will be issued to people in Wrexham and Flintshire with an autistic spectrum disorder including those with Asperger's syndrome – a form of high-functioning autism.

People with an autistic spectrum disorder may become involved with the police and the criminal justice system, often because of a failure of communication.

The idea behind the card is that, if a person comes into contact with any of the emergency services, they can produce the ASD Attention Card which states that they have an Autism Spectrum Disorder and lists a number of ways in which they may be helped to communicate more effectively in what can often be tense and difficult situations.

The card also contains a special telephone number which emergency services personnel can call to speak to someone about autism who can provide appropriate information to the emergency services.

The scheme is being trialled indefinitely by Autism Cymru in conjunction with North Wales Police.  It is part of a wider scheme which will be evaluated with a grant from the National Assembly for Wales.

It is hoped that if the scheme is successful it will eventually be rolled out across Wales.

Maggie Bowen, Deputy Chief Executive of Autism Cymru said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with North Wales Police on this important project which we hope will assist individuals with ASDs and their families as and when they come into contact with the police and emergency services. We are hoping that the information leaflet and posters which accompany the scheme will raise awareness amongst the services so that individuals with ASDs can be treated appropriately. This work will be developed further in the area as a result of us being awarded a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government's New Ideas Fund."
http://www.awares.org/pkgs/news/news.asp...=§ion=

Gizensha, I think the word you are looking for is "precinct".

Yes, I know this feeling of being disbelieved very well. Typically it happens when dealing with some kind of professionals or authority figures. Even if they are initially sympathetic; once they find out from someone else that I am supposedly "mentally unstable" (because of the autism and its manifestations) I am suddenly treated like a liar.

That is why I have little trust of such people. I am not even convinced that Autism is a mental illness in the first place but many in the community believe that it is and that is how they react to us.