The
Family Court Support toolsCreative
Treatment by Jon Bryant based on an idea from The Dudley Advocacy
copyright Jon Bryant 2015
The desire to
find a partner in life and to have children is part of what it is to be human,
it is a fundamental right we all take for granted. Society is built around the
human need to have children and become a family unit, for many it is the single
most important ambition in life, to be in a loving relationship and have
children. This is a fundamental human right we all take for granted.
Life can be
very different if you have a learning disability, society can intervene if
there are concerns that your ability to be a competent parent is in doubt.
People with
learning disabilities have learning disabilities, they do not by default have a
feeling disability and experience the same emotions of joy and sadness that we
do in response to events and circumstances in life.
If as a result
of a loving and affectionate relationship involving people with learning
disabilities a child comes along, this is where society intervenes and triggers
the involvement of the state. Its seeks to protect the interests of the child
first, will the parents with their support network be fit and able to raise a
child with all that entails?
Learning
disabilities can be in a range from profound to just a mild intellectual
impairment so the State has to make decisions based on an assessment of their
competency to provide and care for the child as a family unit.
To better
understand how that is for a couple with a learning disability, putting
ourselves in their shoes is a very valuable exercise in how best to support
them in reaching the right outcomes and life choices.
Let’s imagine
you have found someone, a soul mate, the person you want to share your life
with, these are universal feelings, no different from a parent living in a
remote tribe in the rain forest. It has nothing to do with education or the ability to learn, it is instinctive. The tribe’s people may not have made the
connection that sex makes babies, but are still perfectly capable of being
great parents with all the joy that brings.
The loss of a
child is no less traumatic and life changing because they are uneducated and
lead simple lives.
Imagine
this…
Your partner
becomes pregnant or perhaps you have already had child with whom you have
bonded and has become the centre of your world. Then one day you are told you
have to go to the Family Courts because “people” have decided that they need to
make a decision about your children.
Imagine that
Family Court was somewhere in a foreign land, where you did not understand much
of the language or the rules, the court from the outside looked like a prison or police station with
all the security guards at the entrance. When the burly uniformed guards after
looking for guns, knives and explosives with scanners let you in, then you were
taken to a room full of strangers.
There are one
or two of the people you do recognise, people who have visited you at home who seemed really friendly and
always asked you questions and got you to show them how you did things. It’s hard to understand everything they say
but they seem to be saying that you and your partner are not able to look after
your child properly even with the help you get.
In the room
which is totally unfamiliar and scary, as it has nothing comforting or homely
around it reminds you of a hospital, but smells very different, there is also a
person called the Judge, you remember from the TV that Judges lock nasty people
up in prison for doing bad things, you get very anxious that perhaps you have
done something wrong.
By now you’re
very nervous, unsettled, struggling to understand what people are saying and
when someone asks you a question all the strangers in the room stare at
you. Your mouth goes dry, you feel shaky
and unhappy. You know what you say seems to be important to everyone but the
whole experience has left you so anxious you can’t find the right words, after
all you have never spoken in public before. Your are scared that if you said the wrong thing they will take
your child away, or maybe stop you seeing your best friend in the world.
Be honest if
this happened to you tomorrow in a foreign court in a foreign land with laws
and processes you were unfamiliar with how frightening would that be?
How well you be
able to “speak for yourself” in such an intimidating set of circumstances?
How would you
feel if in not being able to express yourself because you were petrified and
confused, meant your baby or toddler was as a result taken from you forever?
Even if you were OK about it how do you console your distraught partner.
Our
Aims
This project
seeks to address the issues raised above, Family Courts frequently have to make
rulings on the fitness of couples with learning disabilities to bring up
children and this can result in children being removed.
A vital part of
that decision making process is the Judge weighing up the information provided
by social workers and carers, gaining some insight into the parents themselves,
their life circumstances, aspirations, understanding and capabilities.
There will be
occasions where the parent’s contribution to the proceedings will directly
affect the final outcome, if you couldn't say what you wanted to when it
mattered.
Family
Court or Fortress?
Family Courts
deal with family matter, so are already very different from other courts
setting and much has been done to make them as “unintimidating” as possible so
they are typically less formal.
However for a
person with a learning disability just the building itself may appear deeply
intimidating. What you and I accept as part of everyday life by way of burly uniformed security guards,
with their squealing hand held metal detectors and security arches we have to
walk through one at a time to enter buildings is totally alien and frightening
for them.
So just getting
in to the Family Court building will challenge some in extreme ways that it’s
very hard for us to comprehend, ask those with a fear of flying or agoraphobia
about the profound ways their ”phobias” affect them, this is no different.
Awareness
and understanding
It’s fair to
say that virtually everyone attending a Family Court has good comprehension of
why they having to go there, what has lead to it, what is to be ruled on, and
what the likely outcomes might be dependent on the Judge’s ruling be they good
or bad.
For a couple
with learning disabilities gaining this understanding of the process is a
challenge in itself, this is another area the tools will address. Booklets in
Easy Read format are in our opinion helpful but there is a far more effective
and comprehensive approach we are promoting.
In order to
make Family Courts less intimidating and more learning disability friendly
there are many things to address, it is a process of education and
familarisation not confined the just the parents attending court.
The aims of
this project go beyond the parents to the Courts themselves, rising awareness
and educating ALL court staff from the security people to the Judge about the
things they can do to make the visit to the Court a less stressful and
intimidating experience for the parents.
A good model
for this is what cinemas have done to make movies accessible and autism
friendly. The screenings take in to account the things autistic people
experience and react badly to, so lights are left on, soundtracks are turned
down and if they wish they can spend time in the cinema prior to the screening
to become at ease with their surroundings.
These are
simple measures that cost virtually nothing, are easy to implements and utterly
transform the moving going experience for the autistic person allowing them
perhaps for the first time in their lives to see the movies their friends have.
The unfamiliar
and unknown is far more stressful for many people with learning disabilities,
so familiarisation is a corner stone of our approach.
Probable
Format
At this early
stage prior to research we envisage the tools will come in the form of a
downloadable “app” with access to the various video elements. It may also be
made to work on a menu driven DVD. The production format would allow us to add
bespoke media to personalize it to the Family Court in the borough.
To make the
tools properly accessible for the parents I will be drawing on my experience in
creating and using visual languages to enhance communications of complex
subjects for learning disabled people as well as many years in mainstream video
production and direction.
The recourses
we want to create have two objectives and two audiences.
1) To, train and facilitate Family Court
staff to make the courts and the court proceedings less intimidating and more
accessible for learning disabled parents.
2) To provide tools that all the agencies
involved (social workers etc) in the lives of the parents, including their
carers and families. It would be used prior to the hearing and also on the day
to support and familiarise the parents
making the unknown a known and to help them feel safe and at ease to “speak for
themselves in court” and to arrive there with an understanding of the process.
The other important job is to ensure that the strange surroundings and security
do not overwhelm them before events have even begun.
For
the Parents
By producing a
range of short informal video interviews featuring a Judge, court staff
including security people who will talk about their jobs, they become familiar,
reassuring the viewer that they are real people who want to help.
“I am the
security man our job is to make sure you are safe while you are here, keep your
eye open for my smiley face badge, here is my scanner I call him Rover after my
dog” ….“I am the judge we are not scary people, I am always very friendly to
speak to and I really do want to listen to what you have to say, so if you are
nervous I understand I won’t rush you I am here to help as I want what is best
for you”
For
the court staff
This will be a
short video based programme designed to convey how the whole experience of a
day in court is experienced by people with learning disabilities and the things
they can do to help, like smiling, taking a bit more time to explain things,
and possibly overcoming a little stigma en route.
Practical
Measures
I am developing
a range of concepts where little things could be done, maybe the Security Guard
wears a smiley face badge, the portable scanner has a name, the judge and court
staff and others present each have a card in front to them, not names but
colours and shapes about postcard size. These will tie back into the interviews
where the card will be established so the parents know the red triangle is the
Judge, the green square is the social worker etc.
They will be
established early on within the interviews as little reassurances. It will be easy for the advocate of social
worker to have a simple map on paper or a tablet so that the parents understand
who is who within the courtroom when they are speaking.
Production
On the filming
side we need to shoot a range of interviews, the judge for example might
benefit from being interviewed at home, informally over a cup of tea in the
kitchen, this will help the viewer see that they are just regular people who
have a job called “Judge”. Court staff
might take us on an informal tour of the court room so people know what to expect,
perhaps the enlightened courts would allow access prior to parents appearing
for them to overcome some of the fears and feel more at ease.
The second part
of the filming might be with the parents with learning disabilities and people
in their lives talking about some of the things they struggle with, I want to
let court staff see life through their eyes to engender empathy and
understanding.
We want them to
“own” the responsibility as a team to make their court building learning
disabled friendly. With a little planning I am sure having allotted times in
their schedule where cases involving learning disabled people are heard would
be the best way forwards in the interest of all parties.
The APP, we
need this to work on iPads, tablets and laptops, and with or without an
internet connection. The tool itself is
not complex in structure nor is it feature rich, it needs to work for all, so a
person with a mild learning disability should be able to use it independently.
Or if help is needed work through it with their social worker, support team
carers or family who may not always be skilled at such things. Most people can
use a DVD.
copyright Jon Bryant 2015
