Dr. John Gotchall, Pulmonary and Critical Care Doctor, The Arc of Benton County Justice Advocate, and The Arc of Benton County Board Member; Diane Scottaline, Executive Director of The Arc of Benton County; and Cody Gotchall, Self-Advocate and The Arc of Benton County Board member, discuss: 

• How a person receives services through the community Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) services program, and how accommodations are accessed if a person doesn’t meet services criteria.

• Accommodations are independent of county services, and the onus is typically on the individual who needs the accommodations to ask for them.

• Accommodations are typically very low-cost, and “should be applied as generously and liberally as possible.”

• Approximately 18% of Americans experience IDD, but only about 1.5-2% receive services.

• Co-occurrence of mental health disorders along with IDD are very common, and if accommodations aren’t provided, mental health symptoms may be exacerbated.

• How CommCards can identify communication impairments, express personalized accommodations, and can improve interactions between individuals with IDD and the justice system.

• Distinctions between “soft” and “hard” accommodations, and how both are in-line with the ADA’s goals for nondiscrimination.

• People with IDD tend to be victims more frequently as they are a vulnerable population. This should be considered during the adjudication process for people with disabilities in order to avoid disability bias and unconstitutional procedures.

To reach John, please email justice@arcbenton.org 

For more information about the intersection between criminal justice and behavioral health in Oregon, please reach out to us through our website at http://www.ocbhji.org/podcast and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OCBHJI/. We’d love to hear from you.

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