Autistic Teen by Stephon Watts - Article Example

Critique of Newspaper Article: Stephon Watts, Autistic Teen Main Points of the Article In the shadow of Trayvon Martin, another teenager who was killed by a policeman, Stephon Williams has become another victim. In both situations, the boys were black teens who were misunderstood by the police. In Stephon’s situation, his parents actually called the police because he was acting out and they were told by social workers working with the family that they should call the police when Stephon was acting out. Unlike Martin’s case, Stephon was an autistic child having Aspergers Syndrome. An interesting fact in this case was that police knew this family because they were called several times to the house when Stephon was acting out. Description of Mental Disorder and Symptoms According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, (DSM-IV) the diagnostic features of Asperger’s Disorder include challenges with social interaction, and “the development of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities” (p. 75). There must also be “clinically significant” impairment in “social, occupational or other important areas…” (p. 77). Although the information is not totally certain about Asberger’s Disorder, the DSM-IV states that it “appears to be” (p. 76) more attributed to males. Freckelton and List (2009) state that Asberger’s Disorder is often called “high functioning autism” (p. 17) and that most of the children or adults with this disorder “do not show their emotions through facial expressions” (p. 17). There are often sensory problems and gross motor problems (Freckelton & List, 2009). Freckelton and List (2009) also state that males are more apt to have the disorder than females and 20 percent of fathers and only five percent of mothers may have the disease, thus making it hereditary. Issues Raised and Treatment The basic issue raised in this articles was that this young boy was killed by the police on purpose. The initial gunshot was in the child’s arm and it seemed that two other officers who responded to the call panicked, and shot the boy in the head. The mother states, “they murdered my boy…they didn’t have to kill him” (Fox Chicago News, 2012, para. 5). The news reporters attempted to report the facts of the case as they knew it but there were two sides of the situation. The police said that the boy was lunging at them with a knife and they had no other choice but to shoot him. The mother and father state that the boy had a butter knife and that the officers could have shot him in the leg again or something, but that they did not have to kill him. Of course, an investigation is pending, but the Chief of Police stated that the “officers responded appropriately” (para. 6). The news reporters did their best to provide both sides of the issue as best as they could with limited information. Issues Not Addressed There were many issues that were not addressed that should have been addressed. The issue of why the police were called several times to this house to settle a dispute between the boy and his parents. The parents were left helpless as another issue because they did what social workers told them to do. There seemed to be more to this story than was able to be reported. A question that came to mind as an issue was, “if the officers had been to this house many times, why did they not know what they were going to be faced with when they entered the house?” Another set of issues that were not addressed included the misunderstanding by the police that were sent to the house. The boy was acting out because he did not want to go to school. It would seem that this child had acted out in this way previously in other situations and the situation was calmed down. In this situation, the officers shot the boy instead of working it out with him. Were these new police to the scene? Were they rookie officers who were their and went into a panic? The officers were asked what type of knife the child had in his hand, and no one actually knew the answer. According to the officers, they were called to this house several times and ten of those times were about the boy. One other time they approached, they reported the boy had a steak knife. If this were the case all ten times, perhaps this was something that happened because he had Asperger’s. Also, why were the officers not trained in how to work with this child and his disability? They were going to the house on a regular basis so it seemed like they would have done something to understand the family and the situation better. The parents were terribly misinformed. They were told by social workers to call the police when he acted out. Why? What was the response supposed to be from the police? How could they help this family? The social workers should have been more involved at giving the parents a better understanding of resources for their son. Accuracy of the Facts The article was on a page with the video from Fox News so that people could listen to the video and read the story. There was not a sure way to understand whether the facts were accurate or not because there were two different stories circulating at the time that the report was being made. It seemed that as far as the reporters knew, the information was factual. Because it came from a reputable news service, it is assumed that it was accurate. Additional Information The additional information will possibly happen over time. There needed to be more information to the public about what happened and who was responsible. This was impossible to gain at the beginning of this situation. There needed to be a bit more on what Asperger’s Syndrome was because most people would not know anything about it. If they did not provide the information, they could have given a link to find out more about Asperger’s for people who wanted this information. Message the Author Wants Readers to Take Away The message was clearly one of tragedy in which they wanted people to be outraged. The news story showed the distraught mother and made sure to mention that the boy was Autistic. The story also interviewed the uncle of the boy. Because another child who was 17 was killed three weeks ago because he was holding a can of iced tea and a package of Skittles candy, the message in this report becomes more sensational. This author wants people to be upset about this and feel the emotional pain that this mother is feeling. Persuasiveness and Credibility The work was persuasive and since it was a well-known news bureau, it was seen as credible. There were quotes from the parents and the Police Chief that added to the credibility o the information. Tone of the Work The tone of the work is very sad. The author was attempting to make the reader feel the pain and anguish of the parents. The first sentence of the written part of this article tells the reader that the boy had Asperger’s Syndrome which is a part of Autism. This was within the first two paragraphs in order to set the mood. The first emotion that a reader might feel is either sadness or horror because this was the second shooting in three weeks. Also, this would have been the way that people felt because the first boy is still predominantly in the news. The news reporters presented the more emotional side of the incident by talking to the mother who was very emotional. In the video portion of the report, the mother is seen being pushed out of the police department as the reporter explains that the mother was not allowed in the department while the police were talking to the press. The mother was crying and angry, trying to have someone listen to her. As the article continued, there was more evidence to evoke a need for justice to be served in this situation. The Stigma about the Condition The article did not promote an understanding of the condition in any way at all so it was neutral. People will probably read this article and be more upset that the child was black than they would that he had Asperger’s Syndrome. The general public may not know about Autism or the disorder, but they may understand that it was a disabled child who was killed. One of the reasons that there needed to be more information about Asperger’s for the reader was so that they could understand the seriousness of the situation at a deeper level. Learning Something New This article did not give any new information about Asperger’s Syndrome because it was only mentioned in it. It was not important to the news media to give more information about the Autism Spectrum. They used the information to sensationalize the situation instead of informing people about the syndrome. Because of this I did not learn anything new but it did have me looking at the situation differently. I think it is tragic that the police are killing young men but they are not having to take responsibility for their actions. I cannot say that I liked the work. The information was factual and it was sad at the same time. It was something that I would recommend to someone else to read, but it only has value (in my opinion) in talking about racism. By comparing this event with Martin the other boy that was shot three weeks ago, the reader gets a different sense about what is happening. I think that it gives somewhat of an idea that there is something going on that is not a good thing. References Fox Chicago News. (2012, 24 March). Stephon Watts, Autistic teen, fatally shot by police in his home. Huffington Post-Chicago. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/ stephon-watts-autistic-te_n_1249695.html Freckelton, I., & List, D. (2009). Aspergers Disorder, criminal responsibility and criminal culpability. Psychiatry, Psychology & Law, 16(1), 16-40. doi:10.1080/13218710902887483 Read More