Reply to Third family in my circle of special needs had others call cops on their children

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[quote=Anonymous]Attorney with HFA kid here.  I have worked on this problem from the legal side and want everyone to be aware that whether the cops have to respect your kid's disability or even notify you that he is in custody before interrogating him is often a matter of very murky and inconsistent state law.  The federal standard is a hopelessly vague totality-of-the-circumstances test that does not stop judges from finding that a kid's confession was voluntary, for example, even if was a 10 year old with severe ADHD.  So if I had a kid who was in any danger of negative interactions with the police (that's still years away for us) I would want to drill him to hand them a card, and on that card would be my number and my wife's, and the number of a lawyer, and it would say "I am very smart and also autistic, and you cannot assume that I understand and appreciate the real significance of what you are saying to me.  If I am in custody or in any kind of trouble I want you to contact my mom (at #), my dad (at #), and especially my attorney XXX or his colleagues at [[OLD GUY, OLD GUY, AND OLD GUY]] (at #).  I do not wish to speak without my attorney present.  I may try to defend myself if I feel threatened, and I may not fully understand the situation, so please be patient and help me."  Or something like that.

The most important part is the statement that I don't want to speak without a lawyer.  That triggers consequences that the police have no choice but to respect.  Not a panacea but could alter the dynamic and get everybody to stop and think.  Obviously there are a lot of places where that strategy could break down but it's probably better, I think, than my kid is likely to do on his own.[/quote]

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