RYL Forums - Challenging behaviour in public and at risk of being arrested again.

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- - Challenging behaviour in public and at risk of being arrested again. (https://www.recoveryourlife.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233947)

Challenging behaviour in public and at risk of being arrested again.

I was in a town centre with my support worker today (bad idea but we needed to get to a common). It was pretty busy and I was freaking out. Then, to make it worse, a car hooted several times in a row right next to me while a woman kept trying to shove a leaflet into my hand. I started screaming and ran off. My support worker found me kicking a bus stop window. My support worker was trying to calm me down. I heard an old lady muttering to someone "she's going to end up being arrested if she doesn't behave".

That makes me worry. Is there a chance I could get arrested next time? If so, would my support worker (or mum, whoever is with me - I can't go out alone) need to say or do to sort it out? I do not want to end up in the secure unit again.

NB: sorry for going on about this but it is a major worry for me.

I work with adults with learning disabilities, and some of them have autism, and with it, challenging behaviour. I have never had anyone be arrested, though I have been asked to leave a couple of pubs and a shopping centre and have dealt with negative reactions from the public, such as people staring or saying unkind things, and I've had my service users assault me in public, scream as loudly as they can, push members of the public, and one of them even grabbed a small girls hair.
I would think that if you have someone with you, who can talk on your behalf, as you do when you go out, they would just have to explain that you have autism and cannot control how you are acting in that instance, but that they know how to calm you, so that you are able to gain control. I would also have them explain that arresting you would further your distress and would not be helpful.
The only way I could see the police wanting to arrest you is if you have caused damage to something, or have assaulted a member of the public, but usually people are quite understanding when they realise someone has a disability/condition that is causing them to act that way.
I think that on the whole, from my experiences, it is unlikely that you would be arrested, but it may be beneficial to talk to your support worker about your worries, and work out what they can say to the police if you ever get into that situation

Thanks that helps. I'll ask my support worker to draw up a plan with me for such situations.