A New York mother recalled the moment when her neighbors called the police on her son with autism because he was making too much noise.
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Tanya Manning-Yarde penned in the Huffington Post about her seven-year-old son with autism and their experience with her neighbors calling the police. She said officers arrived at her door on July 5 and explained that their neighbors complained about the noise Yarde’s son was making. She writes, Given his sensory issues, we cannot help the “noise” our 7-year-old makes. His shouting, leaping, dancing, jumping, and stomping are unpredictable. We instruct him to “walk like you are in school” when moving throughout our apartment…“This is the noise they are complaining about,” I said, lifting my 7-year-old and bringing him to the front door. I wanted the officer to see the “reason” behind his call.”
Although the conversation with the officer went well, Yarde said the encounter scared her eight-year-old son.
“Our 7-year-old stayed quiet and calm, sitting on the floor mat nearby, but our 8-year-old was unsettled. He broke down and cried. I hugged him and asked the officer, “Before you go, would you mind reassuring our son that everything is OK? He is really shaken up by having the police called on us.”
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The officer reassured that the situation was under the control to Yarde’s eldest child but she was disgusted by the idea that her neighbors used the police as a threat to their wellbeing.
“Without having to say it aloud, my husband and I knew what just went down. Our neighbors had weaponized the police against us. So much is at stake for our family whenever the police are called to our home. This could have ended differently had we not been practiced in how to present ourselves, and more so, fortunate to meet an officer with civility, good training and humility. We have a litany of names this year alone, and historically, as to why this concern is justified.”
She says the pandemic has made things tougher for her seven-year-old due to the confines of being home and dealing with doing remote work for school and therapy. However, she and her husband decided to take steps of bringing awareness about children with special needs and working together with the police department.
“One of the greatest places of compassion has been from our police department. Our community liaison officer contacted me the day after I emailed him asking for advice about our circumstance. At his urging, we listed our son on the special needs registry so that going forward all officers have advance notice of his disability. His support and affirmation were a welcome change, especially in these politicized and polarized times.
Moving forward, not in bitterness but in benevolence, we are taking steps to support our community’s growing awareness of children with special needs. My husband has applied to become a member of the township citizen board to build awareness about autism. I am working toward the same by writing children’s literature with children who have autism spectrum disorder as central characters.”
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