Lawyers need deeper training to engage with individuals with disabilities

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Lawyers spend years perfecting the art of the client-attorney relationship and regularly engage with individuals from various socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Each relationship is unique to the circumstances. However, there are certain situations that require deeper consideration and care, such as working with individuals with disabilities.

In 2015, one of us was invited to serve as a competency expert on a case where an adolescent, “James,” with intellectual disabilities was arrested for stealing cellphones. While James did steal the cellphones, he was coerced by a group of his peers to take the phones and did not fully understand his actions or the consequences.

James was also very vulnerable and lacking understanding during assessments to determine his competency. He frequently mentioned that he just wanted to “give the right answers so he could just go home to his mom.” Yet, it was also clear from observations in the courtroom that the prosecutor and judge did not understand the degree of his disability (which was significant) because he did not “look” disabled.

Sadly, James’ story is not uncommon. People with intellectual and or developmental disabilities (I/DDs) are more vulnerable to neglect and abuse than other care groups or the general population. Along with being witnesses and victims of crime, for many people with I/DDs, limited social, verbal, or processing skills can also make them easy targets of coercion.

As a result, adults with I/DDs are seven times more likely to have encounters with law enforcement personnel and other first responders.

Speaking as educators who currently train first responders on how to effectively and empathically interact with individuals with I/DDs, we believe knowing the best way to communicate with people with intellectual or developmental disabilities involved in the court system is not only important, but critical.
Currently, in our LEAD Online Regional Pilot, funded by Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, we focus our training on Maryland firefighters and emergency management services. The LEAD Program uses adult self-advocate educators — individuals with I/DDs — alongside EMS experts to teach trainees how behaviors and communication abilities of people with IDD may vary in crises or high stress environments.

Trainees learn evidence-based techniques and strategies and practice these skills and concepts through role-play scenarios with the self-advocate educators. This training program consists of an asynchronous online learning module followed by a synchronous online role-play.

This format allows for trainee flexibility in content learning as well as an authentic opportunity to apply and receive feedback on newly learned skills.

Court system personnel, including prosecutors, public defenders, and judges, should also understand the characteristics and behaviors of people with I/DDS in order to work with and serve this population more effectively.
This call to action is supported by current literature showing that court system personnel lack disability cultural competency, appropriate communication strategies, and can rely on misinformation and stigma about disability during interactions and proceedings.

As law professionals and individuals, it’s important to consider how your own biases can play a role in how persons with I/DD are treated in the justice system. Whether you’re representing a client or working with witnesses in civil matters, it’s important to fully understand an individual’s ability to comprehend the situation at hand.

Individuals with I/DDs are vulnerable at every stage of the justice system. With proper training, lawyers and those involved in the court system can learn how to work with individuals with disabilities in order to create a more just system and world.

Dr. Lisa Schoenbrodt and Dr. Leah Saal are educators and the directors of the Learning to LEAD program. Schoenbrodt is professor of speech-language-hearing sciences and Saal is an associate professor of literacy at Loyola University Maryland. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].