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Anyone had to deal with an Asperger's Syndrome / Autism meltdown and the police being called?

Beth - posted on 04/16/2012 ( 1 mom has responded )

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My son has Asperger's (on the Autism Spectrum). He's 13 and a few weeks ago at school he had a meltdown which I would characterize as mild in comparison to some he's had in the past. Yet the school administrators called in the police and he was served with a disorderly conduct citation. He did not hit anyone or himself, he did not throw anything or break or tear up anything yet NOW they do this?!?!

Has anyone else had difficulty with school personnel and or the police in dealing with a teen with special needs? Any suggestions? I'm seriously contemplating going into that court room tomorrow afternoon and try to fight this thing! But I feel SO ALONE!!

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Marlene - posted on 04/17/2012

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I would get a juvenile justice lawyer. I did get a juvenile justice lawyer. We just went through a ordeal over a "non incident" that my son was actually suspended for 10 days while the school "investigated" the allegation, which proved to be false. This is a well behaved child who never gets in trouble, is severely depressed and anxious, school phobic, very intelligent and well liked. The police department came to our door, and "requested" that my son go to the police station so they could "question" him about it. "Yea right!" If they intimidated him, or twisted his words, he could have serious charges against him. Luckily I was no fool and called for a lawyer immediately! I was also furious that he was not protected, and in fact victimized by the system, in having an IEP that clearly accommodated Tourette Syndrome and co-morbid disorders.
The school ended up paying thousands for one of the best psychologist's in the area (our lawyer approved of him) to do a neuro-psychological examination. We knew this would only be to our advantage. My son's last NP eval. was 3 yrs ago. Now they will have to follow the educational recommendations of their own ordered report! AND my son is not a threat to anyone!
We were lucky that his dad paid the $1500. retainer. We do have advocates in this area, and free legal services, even ones that I already had a dialog with, had that been my only resource. I'm grateful his dad hired the lawyer we got, because after I found him, that very day, I found out he was considered the best in the area!
Now that he's all in the clear I'd really like to go back over the "trail" of this thing and hold people accountable. Our new psychiatric nurse practitioner reminded me that I can file a complaint with the medical board for a doctors involvement. I'm glad my son is recovering, but it has done damage to his social network. The high school drama was terrible. I felt so bad for him. Well, it's a life lesson, you find out who your real friends are.

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