Shortly after the murder of Trayvon Martin, John, a 26 year old young man with autism, was walking in a shopping center not far from RDIconnect.
I have known John since he was 10 and at that age, although able to think about things, his expressive language was quirky. Sometimes he still expresses himself in a way that that is confusing. For example, if you were to ask him if he drives a car he might answer "lots of people all over the world don't drive cars and that's ok because they can ride their bikes or take a bus".
John is independent. He lives in a condominium where he cooks for himself and bakes for others, has a job, handles his own money and although he does not drive, he travels easily around Houston. In our small city within the heart of Houston where he resides, John knows most of his neighbors and shopkeepers, often stopping to chat if they are practicing soccer with their children or BBQ'ing outdoors.
Like Florida, Texas has a "stand your ground" law and although one would believe from reading it that it is illegal to pursue, stalk and murder, there are many court cases that reflect the opposite. Like other cities in Texas, the citizenry of Houston are heavily armed with children, both boys and girls, often getting guns as a rite of passage as they near the teenage years.
On the day to which I refer, John came to our session and said "sometimes the police put you in handcuffs to keep you safe." Piecing the story together, I learned that John was walking around the shopping center, perhaps thinking his thoughts out loud when he was approached by two police in uniform. They were not from our small city but from the larger metropolitan area, thus, they did not know John. A call had come in that there was a suspicious person, not from the store owners who know John but from a shopper.
John is young, good looking and like Trayvon Martin, muscular and handsome. To the chagrin of John's parents and those of us who know him, he was questioned, handcuffed and then put in the back seat of the police car and driven to his condominium.
I can't get out of my mind that if this had occurred later in the day, and if the police hadn't come promptly, an armed citizen might have decided to act on his fear and the story of Trayvon Martin would be the story of John.
I've come to accept that Texans love their guns and they love to hunt. I also get that a right to protect one's property and children is something most of us would agree to. But where is the protection from an armed citizenry for children who "aren't like us". How do we even begin to teach our children strategies to cope with a law whose interpretation of "stand your ground" might wink at stalk and murder.
Although imagining John handcuffed in the backseat of a police car makes me physically ill, I am thankful that he was confronted by trained law enforcement officers and not an armed, well-intentioned citizen.
John continues to walk around our streets, talking to the neighbors, enjoying their swings, baking cookies and muffins for their birthdays and block parties. I used to love seeing him walk around.
It feels different now.
Dr. Rachelle Sheely serves as the co-director of RDIconnect as well as the head of professional training and supervision. For the past fifteen years she has been a leader in the development and logistical implementation of programs for both families and professionals working with children, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities. Along with her extensive clinical training, Dr. Sheely brings an accomplished background in education, art, music and poetry allowing her to inject creativity and originality into the teaching, training and management of the thousands of professionals and families she reaches on a daily basis. Profoundly effecting, Dr. Sheely has spent a lifetime working with children on a professional and personal level. With a gift for moving from observation to intuitive precision, her work extends far beyond treatment, and into the everyday moments that resonate in the lives of her clients.