Nightmare Come True: Police Training, Autism, and Down Syndrome
Posted: September 20, 2013 Filed under: advocacy, disability, Down syndrome | Tags: autism, Down syndrome, Ethan Saylor, Intellectual disability, Maryland, Police, police brutality 45 CommentsSometimes I spend time worrying about my infant son’s future. My son with Down syndrome. My son with a disability. My son, a human being.
Among the things I worry about is that the world will see him as nothing but a problem. An anomaly, a special circumstance, some thing to be “handled” and “managed”. I worry that people will take one look at him and hold him up to a stereotype, and he’ll never have a chance to be fully human. If he matches the stereotype, everything he says or does will be a foregone conclusion. If he deviates from the stereotype, he’ll be nothing but an even greater abnormality.
My fears became reality today. Read the rest of this entry »
An Open Letter to Martin O’Malley: #JusticeForEthan
Posted: September 6, 2013 Filed under: advocacy, Down syndrome | Tags: Down syndrome, Ethan Saylor, Martin O'Malley, Maryland, police brutality 3 CommentsDear Governor O’Malley,
Please order an independent investigation into Ethan Saylor’s homicide. Saylor was an American, brother, son, friend, and above all, a human being. His family deserves answers. His community deserves to know that a person with a disability has the same right to life as any other human being.
Your office made a statement that you wish to “focus on forward-looking strategies” to prevent any more deaths such as Saylor’s. Without truth and accountability, there is no path forward. Read the rest of this entry »
Our Collective Voice: #JusticeForEthan
Posted: July 17, 2013 Filed under: advocacy, Down syndrome | Tags: disability, Down syndrome, human rights, Maryland, police brutality, Saylor 22 CommentsTo my community of parents, friends, and individuals touched by Down syndrome, please open your hearts to what I have to say:
If we do not speak up and publicly condemn Ethan Saylor’s death—his right to live—no one will. Read the rest of this entry »
