Some things are difficult to look at because they do not match our concept of how things ought to be. This makes us uneasy and feel unsafe, so we turn away. So it is with autism.
Article author Dr. Stephanie Leite will be presenting “That Which We Do Not Know Autism & Threat Assessment” at this summer’s Campus Safety Conference being held in Austin, Texas, July 21-23. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.
Autism Speaks reports that one in 31 8-year-olds are diagnosed with autism. That is a little more than 3% of the population. Other studies have found that the number of students diagnosed with autism decreases in colleges and universities for many reasons, including that it is hard to be a college student with autism because college is a social environment and institutions of higher education have fewer supports than do K-12 schools.
Related Article: How Colleges Can Help Students with Autism Navigate Social Relationships
This leaves us with a known and an unknown. We have autistic people in our schools, communities, and our families. Yet we often do not know how to manage their safety needs and the associated risks. As a campus security professional or administrator you should be addressing this.
If you are like me, you chose your profession because you wanted to help. You wanted to make a difference in the world. You saw and continue to see young people as being the future and as deserving the best futures we can give them. To do this, we need to give them a skill set to manage their world in a safe environment.
Individuals with Autism Often Are Misunderstood and Perceived as Threatening
So often, autistic people are misperceived as being dangerous. They act in a way that is not neurotypical, so it feels strange to those of us with more pedantic brains. Individuals with autism may have a poor sense of appropriate social distance. They may become upset with unclear instructions or noise in their environments. They may express themselves with affective reactions, scaring those around them.
It is human to take scary things and put them in a cupboard. My children had a Furby that terrified me. It woke up at random intervals and made random noises. I hid it in the linen cupboard under a pile of blankets until it stopped moving.
Related Article: Autism and Stalking Behavior Under Title IX
Although putting it in the cupboard might be an appropriate response to a Furby, when we do this to a human being — putting them on home instruction or asking them to take a medical leave — the damage we cause can be immense. Instead, we need to be able to accurately assess risk and manage it in a way that gives new skills, creates more strength, and minimizes risk factors. This process is called behavioral threat assessment and management, and this is what I do.
Dr. Stephanie Leite
Most of the autistic students referred for a threat assessment are at risk, yet do not pose a risk. They are at risk of being isolated, underperforming because they do not understand instructions, being bullied, and developing grievances against those who treat them poorly. Sometimes that turns into violence, but most of the time, the smarter heads in the room can mitigate the risk.
What NOT to Do
I first met George when the school realized that his suspension was almost up and they needed to figure out whether or not to let him back into school. The subtext here is that they did what I already told you we should not do: they were scared by him and they sent him home without an informed assessment process. What did George do that was so scary?
George is a skinny, geeky autistic boy. He moves in an uncoordinated way, showing the poor muscle tone common in many autistic people. He was in fifth grade during COVID, the time when friendships and social circles are developed. He never got one; instead, he was always the odd boy out. He was OK with this. He spent time with his father, who was retired, and loved cooking with his mother. He also had an impressive repertoire of completely mediocre Disney voices. He was thrilled to show me how he could sound like Donald Duck, Minnie, Goofy, and Mickey.
I asked him what happened, and he said he did not know, but that he had been bullied and he told the teachers, and then they sent him home. His parents did not know either. I, of course, knew, because I had talked to the school. They said that no one knew him, even though it was March of his freshman year, because he flew under the radar as a quiet boy.
They suspended him because, after making several complaints about being bullied, he told the AP, “I am going to show those bullies what it feels like to be scared.” He also wrote a concerning essay in English class about creating an island nation where he was the king, and bullies were not allowed. The concerns were that he was narcissistic and lethal.
How to Talk to Someone Who Is Autistic
• Keep your voice even and use open body language
• Do not touch them unless you have permission to do so
• Have the conversation somewhere without distractions
• Be very clear. Stay away from metaphors.
• Have them repeat back to you what you said. Sometimes things get lost in translation.
Adobe stock image by OneLineStock
When I met with George, I asked him about the statement. His response was “I did say that. The bullies are terrible. They scare me every day I walk into that building and I want them to know what it feels like to be scared.” I asked what he would do to scare them and he looked at me with a smile, “I have figured that out. I am going to take my birthday money and go onto Amazon and buy a collar – the kind punk rockers wear – and wear that to school. They will be really scared.”
“Aha,” I thought, ”this is a reasonable response.” In behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM), we want to see people of concern (POCs) who can come up with creative solutions to their problems that are not lethal. Talking to staff is a good idea. Wearing a collar is sort of unusual but is also a nice idea. It is when someone comes up with the idea “I want to hurt people” that they are on the pathway to violence, and we become concerned.
As the interview continued, I realized no one at school had taken the time to ask him questions beyond the superficial “did you say this?” sort of interrogation. The list of what they did not do is long. So was the list of what they did do.
Related Article: 9 Common Traits of Autism SROs Should Know to Foster Positive Student Interactions
They demonstrated that he is unimportant and inessential to the school. They showed that they protect bullies and ignore the weak kids. They created a system where quiet kids are lost. They interpreted his actions through a neurotypical lens and showed no understanding of a neurodiverse communication style. They failed this boy and probably many others in their school by insisting he was dangerous when there was no substantive evidence that he was.
Threat assessors must look at the difficult things, like the sun. We can do this because we are also like the sun. We can be harsh, but mostly we provide life, warmth, and most importantly, shine light into difficult situations. We have to react with intelligence and knowledge.
Dr. Stephanie Leite is the principal at Forensic Intelligence, LLC. She has worked with high-risk children, adolescents, and adults for over 25 years, focusing on the prevention of violence. She recommends the following additional resources on Autism:
- This is my favorite article on autism and threat by the always intelligent authors Meloy, White, Mohandie, and Kienlan. It is a short and excellent read.
- Autism speaks is a deep website with many articles that will interest you.
- Here is a great article from Autism Speaks on autism and violence.
- College Autism Network has stats and important information
- Here is a great article from NASP on school shooter drills and autism.
NOTE: The views expressed by guest bloggers and contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Campus Safety.
