Thanks for sharing. I love your psychological point of view. As a psych major myself I think not enough is understood by the general populace about the way that from a psychological standpoint what we are doing in prisons is just torture. I think its also worth noting, and you might have and I missed it, that prisoners who have ADHD etc, neural scans show the same effects as physical pain when they are bored. If the goal is to learn and improve to fit back into society, we need to change entirely how we operate.
I didn't have that in there; I hadn't heard of that phenomenon but it doesn't surprise me one bit! I'm on the autism spectrum myself, and I know several people diagnosed with ADHD. We all struggle severely with boredom.
I completely understand. My partner is Austistic/ADHD and I have ADHD. While in the interesting times such as these that we live in, it is a bit of a superpower being able to handle massive streams of raw data and analyze. It does mean that I am struggling with the little things that require executive functioning significantly more than normal; however I prefer to think every superhero has a weakness of some sort.
I'm 90% certain my soon-to-be-spouse is on the spectrum as well - he's also got a psych degree and he fully agrees that he likely is. Ditto with his little sister, likewise with a degree in childhood education and who works with disabled kids. She's ADHD and when he asked, she was like "Dude, yeah, you're autistic as fuck."
We get along very well in that way, thankfully. We both have a mix of skills and difficulties that complement each other. It definitely helps to have that superpower, especially his - he's a human calculator and incredibly good at organizing and making lists.
I'm better at remembering details and names and such, which he has trouble with. We each have different symptoms and talents, and it helps to have someone who knows exactly what it's like.
As the mother of two sons with addiction issues, the youngest diagnosed with ADHD and on the spectrum, I got an unwanted education on the (in)justice system. Both are currently incarcerated and it's doubtful I will see either of them again due to health issues. Studies have shown that rehabilitation is more effective than incarceration in prison with violent offenders and lowers the rate of recidivism. It's also cheaper on the state in the long term. Unfortunately, we are in an extremely draconian southern state with DAs and judges and lawyers, some of them related, who are more interested in getting notches in their proverbial belts than actually trying to help people who are hurting. The good old boy system is alive and well here and who you know is the difference between long prison terms and actual help. Sigh...
I understand Linda. Im in South Carolina here. Perhaps you heard of that most unfortunate of national scandals, the Murdaugh case?
I am sorry to hear about your sons. You are correct both in the data regarding recidivism and in the cost. I think part of the problem with the democratic party on this issue, is that they get caught in the weeds. They aren’t capable of just spelling out for people, its cheaper and it cuts down on the overall rate of crime if we do this. They get caught in the data and never actually explain how we can do it better.
I hope we are able to change this, and I hope and wish for your sons the strength to make it through this ordeal.
Yes, ma'am- I heard about that case, watched the trial on Court TV, and have watched a documentary on it. Thank you for your kind words. I needed to hear that right now. ♥
Inhumane
Thanks for sharing. I love your psychological point of view. As a psych major myself I think not enough is understood by the general populace about the way that from a psychological standpoint what we are doing in prisons is just torture. I think its also worth noting, and you might have and I missed it, that prisoners who have ADHD etc, neural scans show the same effects as physical pain when they are bored. If the goal is to learn and improve to fit back into society, we need to change entirely how we operate.
I didn't have that in there; I hadn't heard of that phenomenon but it doesn't surprise me one bit! I'm on the autism spectrum myself, and I know several people diagnosed with ADHD. We all struggle severely with boredom.
I completely understand. My partner is Austistic/ADHD and I have ADHD. While in the interesting times such as these that we live in, it is a bit of a superpower being able to handle massive streams of raw data and analyze. It does mean that I am struggling with the little things that require executive functioning significantly more than normal; however I prefer to think every superhero has a weakness of some sort.
I'm 90% certain my soon-to-be-spouse is on the spectrum as well - he's also got a psych degree and he fully agrees that he likely is. Ditto with his little sister, likewise with a degree in childhood education and who works with disabled kids. She's ADHD and when he asked, she was like "Dude, yeah, you're autistic as fuck."
We get along very well in that way, thankfully. We both have a mix of skills and difficulties that complement each other. It definitely helps to have that superpower, especially his - he's a human calculator and incredibly good at organizing and making lists.
I'm better at remembering details and names and such, which he has trouble with. We each have different symptoms and talents, and it helps to have someone who knows exactly what it's like.
As the mother of two sons with addiction issues, the youngest diagnosed with ADHD and on the spectrum, I got an unwanted education on the (in)justice system. Both are currently incarcerated and it's doubtful I will see either of them again due to health issues. Studies have shown that rehabilitation is more effective than incarceration in prison with violent offenders and lowers the rate of recidivism. It's also cheaper on the state in the long term. Unfortunately, we are in an extremely draconian southern state with DAs and judges and lawyers, some of them related, who are more interested in getting notches in their proverbial belts than actually trying to help people who are hurting. The good old boy system is alive and well here and who you know is the difference between long prison terms and actual help. Sigh...
I understand Linda. Im in South Carolina here. Perhaps you heard of that most unfortunate of national scandals, the Murdaugh case?
I am sorry to hear about your sons. You are correct both in the data regarding recidivism and in the cost. I think part of the problem with the democratic party on this issue, is that they get caught in the weeds. They aren’t capable of just spelling out for people, its cheaper and it cuts down on the overall rate of crime if we do this. They get caught in the data and never actually explain how we can do it better.
I hope we are able to change this, and I hope and wish for your sons the strength to make it through this ordeal.
Yes, ma'am- I heard about that case, watched the trial on Court TV, and have watched a documentary on it. Thank you for your kind words. I needed to hear that right now. ♥