ShadowGram Update #164

[Nancy]

Something was done about any future incidents occurring.  The man in question had a chaperone who was not paying attention at the time of the incident.  The chaperone was told that he must be with the gentleman at all times at the festival to prevent another incident of its kind from happening.  There should have been volunteers at the stage as well and there were not. A screw up, obviously.  But this gentleman and his chaperone have attended subsequent DS events without any further incident.

Nancy

If this is the incident I *think* it was, that gentleman was mentally retarded (Down's Syndrome) and although it WAS disruptive, it's hard to kick a retarded guy out.  He probably didn't understand fully what he was doing or saying.  This was the guy who kept calling KLS Maggie Evans right?  And saying she'd betrayed us?  Now, if he was w/someone, an aid for example, who wasn't disabled, which I think MUST'VE been the case 'cause this guy was REALLY disabled, then IMHO it is/was up to that person to discreetly remove him and try to prevent a further incident which apparently happened the next day.

[Teresa]

Something was done about any future incidents occurring.  The man in question had a chaperone who was not paying attention at the time of the incident.  The chaperone was told that he must be with the gentleman at all times at the festival to prevent another incident of its kind from happening.  There should have been volunteers at the stage as well and there were not. A screw up, obviously.  But this gentleman and his chaperone have attended subsequent DS events without any further incident.

Nancy

I remember this incident quite well and agree the gentleman should have had his chaperone attending him. We had a down symdrome friend of our family who was perfectly fine with people he knew but outside of his comfort zone he sometimes became difficult when stressed or around large groups of people. However as I was a volunteer a few years in a row I can tell you that I would not have been equipt to handle that situation. My first volunteer experience was not pleasant as one young lady told me to "F" off when I told her what door she needed to leave from. That was my first fest too but that was just one bad experience out of many great ones that weekend. Sounds like we need some bouncers at the doors

[Nancy]

LOL, wouldn't you know it that would be your first volunteer experience - having someone mouth off at you.  Fortunately, you stuck with it and realized most people are quite agreeable and polite as long as the volunteer in the situation is too.  Every once in awhile you get someone whose parents left him or her on the Tilt-a-whirl too long as a child . . . .

Nancy

However as I was a volunteer a few years in a row I can tell you that I would not have been equipt to handle that situation. My first volunteer experience was not pleasant as one young lady told me to "F" off when I told her what door she needed to leave from. That was my first fest too but that was just one bad experience out of many great ones that weekend. Sounds like we need some bouncers at the doors

[MsCriseyde]

My first volunteer experience was not pleasant as one young lady told me to "F" off when I told her what door she needed to leave from.

I'm sorry. It will never happen again. 

[Brandon Collins]

Oh, I didn't realize that the fan involved with the KLS incident was mentally disabled. I searched through the past posts that I missed under this topic and didn't see it explained (maybe I missed it). If I had known that, my response to the issue would've been much different.

[Gerard]

I work with cognitively disabled people, including those with Down's, and the behavior of the young man is typical when one understands how someone with his affliction "views things."  There are different levels of Down's, from moderate to severe, and some with the condition can live very productive and independent lives (recall the young actor who appeared in that one TV show called, I think, "Life Goes On").  Because of the brain's inability to process things, they often become highly focused on something and anything out of the "norm" of it (as they see it) brings confusion and trepidation.  For example, with several of the Down's people I work with, they have very set patterns, even in the way they eat, and if this is changed it disrupts their "comfort zone" and they can become very aggitated.  It's like having a security rug pulled out from under you.  In the case of the young man at the festival, and I'm hypothesizing here, to him KLS was Maggie Evans, and the show was probably "reality" to him.  When she, as Maggie, left the show, it disrupted life for him, and thus her "betrayal."  Of course, it might have been some other "issue," but that's how he saw things; he can't help it.

But I do agree that his aide should have been with him at all times.  He was in a strange place with nothing familiar to him, and a greater risk was not what happened on stage, but if he should have become lost and totally disorientated, causing panic.  Imagine him, in confusion, walking out the door of the hotel into the streets of whatever city this was in (places like New York and Los Angeles can be overwhelming for "normal" folk, let alone those with a cognitive disability).  Turn your back for a second and it can happen.  We never, ever, leave those in our charge out of eyeshot for any reason.

Gerard

[Nancy]

That's very interesting insight, Gerard. Thanks!

Nancy

[BuzzH]

Oh, I didn't realize that the fan involved with the KLS incident was mentally disabled. I searched through the past posts that I missed under this topic and didn't see it explained (maybe I missed it). If I had known that, my response to the issue would've been much different.

Brandon, the first mention that he was disabled were the posts by MsCriseyede and myself, and speaking for myself, I was only guessing that this was the incident Joe was referring to.  Since he hasn't said it was someone else I'm going to assume it *was* this incident.  Your post came before ours, so don't feel bad, you didn't know.