When Will the Violence End? Young Man with Autism Murdered in NY State Institution

From the Washington Post (12.7.10):

Autistic NY patient's death ruled homicide
 
The death of a severely autistic patient who had been allegedly restrained at a state-run psychiatric facility in New York has been ruled a homicide.
 
New York City's medical examiner determined Jawara Henry died of asphyxiation by neck and chest compression on Saturday...

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Comments

[Deborah Exum]

To whom it may concern:

I am writing about this article of Jawara Henry; an Autistic Man who died in a N.Y. institution.

This sad case should be enough evidence, of what is an average example of what is going on in our State institutions. More people with disabilities die of abuse than any other groups. Without a persons voice in the institution, neglect and abuse can easily go undetected.

I myself would personally like to say I have been a witness to these horrible acts. The very people who by Doctors orders administared these restraints, should be help accountable.

We still need a federal law to ban all restraints. Other measures need to be taken. Without this federal law, more people will be injured and will die.

I am so sad right now, I cannot stop the tears.

Love,
Deborah

[Deborah Exum]

I would like to add to my last article.

The death of Jawara Henry should never had happened. I was trying to get my main point across, and that is we need to shut down the state institutions like where Jawara died.

Group homes are a good substitute if the individual cannnot go home.

Thank you for your time.

Deborah Exum

[me]

Really sad this comes as no surprise to me. I called 911 for a rapid heart rate of 165 bpm and was taken to Valley Medical Hospital in Santa Clara California. While I was there in the emergency room they saw a history of Bipolar so stereotyped me and shot me full of Ativan 3 mg and two other anti anxiety drugs. I CALLED THEM for help and they strapped me down in four point restraints and shot me up with those drugs. When I protested by raising my voice and angrily requesting my release, a male orderly came in and put his hand around my throat and told me flat out, "Shut up!" He kept it on there for about 15 seconds till I saw white stars. Turns out I had a Carcinoid tumor on my liver which was causing he rapid heart rate and had a liver resection, 13 lymphnodes removed and a colon resection. The Doc even said I was costing the insurance company too much money with the tests which led up to my diagnoses with cancer. I was met with disbelief when I told ths story and accused of evertyhthing from I am bipolar and imagined it to who would believe me even if I was telling the truth because I am bipolar.
Which respectively comes to my not being surprised when I hear 'so and so' went in and shot up X amount of people "had a history of mental illness". Can you blame them?

[Tiffany L Daniels]

Got to love the fact that when you come in with a legimate problem everyone from the doctor down tells you that you are imagining things, are delusional because of your diagnoses, and to just go home and suffer. *rolls eyes*

And people wonder why I despair of the species!!

I wonder how long the discrimination will continue before something is actually done about it. Now for the matter at hand. I wonder how much training these guys had when dealing with those on the spectrum.

I have found in my state that often the only knowlege one has is from a seminar they went to at the beginning of thier employment. And they are then allowed to work with those whom they have had little experience with, with next to no training about what to do in a crisis situation.

I also wonder what provoked this young man. If he is not known for violence, then something happened to set him off. Even those for whom meltdowns are more frequent, there is always a trigger.

I wonder this even more when they speak about the bruises on him from the past. Once again, those with little training can sometimes restrain (often in the wrong, painful manner) when something even remotely looks to them like it could be a meltdown. Such as Flapping at times.

The lack of training amongst those hired to care for those with disabilities is appalling! And yet no one except us advocates seems to want to talk about that. I have been told before about how much money it would cost to require that all aids and staff that work with those with disabilities be trained throughly in how to work with those with specific disabilities.

Such as requiring certification for those wanting to work as staff for those with autism, Downs, fetal-acholhol syndrome, etc. That way we know that those working with those with disabilities have been through a through training process and taught how to deal in crisis sitactions.

Is it wrong to think we should require this?! So what if we would have to pay the staff more, or insurance would have to? At least then we would know that our loved ones and/or ourselves are in expert hands as opposed to the lottery system we now have were you can only hope and pray the staff knows what they are doing.