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LAWTISM
Autism. The Law. And What Parents Need to Know
Just this week, on Monday, my son was able to enter his plea agreement. After 19 long months of house arrest, everything was finally in order and the court accepted his plea.
It’s over.
And it’s not.
Now we begin his 10 years of probation, and I am already not at fan of those people.
This entire experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth about our criminal justice system, and my son is one of the lucky ones. We were privileged enough to obtain excellent attorneys, and lucky to have a prosecutor who took the time to learn about autism and my son’s autism in particular. Thousands of people with autism are not so lucky and they are caught in the web of a criminal justice system that is far from just.
So where does this leave me? Being a writer, there’s really only one thing I can do about it.
Write about it.
Arm parents of those with autism with all the things I learned the hard way.
Toward that end, I’ve launched LAWTISM: Autism. The Law. And What Parents Need to Know.*
By age 21, approximately 20% of youth with autism have been stopped and questioned by police and nearly 5% have been arrested. LAWTISM provides parents insights and resources necessary should they find themselves in this frightening situation. It’s also free, and simply by subscribing to Life On The Inside (my chronicle of this entire experience), you will receive LAWTISM.
I hope you’ll subscribe and share this important resource with all those you hope never need it.
*Special shout out to my stepdaughter Jenna for coming up with the name LAWTISM. Thank you!
