ALBION, Pa. — ALBION, Pa. (AP) – “You are the lighthouse in someone’s storm,” reads the message above a mural of a sailboat bobbing on ocean waves under a cloud-strewn azure sky. It’s an unexpected slogan for a prison wall.
On a nearby door painted deep blue, a bright yellow Minion character offers “Ways to Say Hello” lists of suggestions on how inmates locked up in a segregated unit at the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution in Albion can best greet each other. A handful of ‘sensory’ rooms in the unit offer soothing blue walls where bright fluorescent lights are dimmed by special covers.
The unique environment is part of a program aimed at better serving inmates with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a growing population that experts say poses a challenge to corrections officials as they try to balance the need for security with accommodations.
Such prisoners often suffer from overstimulation, inflexibility and difficulty with complex directions, resulting in strong reactions that can lead to further discipline. They also struggle with social boundaries, making them more vulnerable to abuse, violence or manipulation in prison, says Steven Soliwoda, creator of Albion’s Neurodevelopmental Residential Treatment Unit.
In a regular prison environment, many of these inmates with autism and similar disabilities “would normally have gotten through their incarceration calmly,” says Soliwoda, who is also a program manager at Albion. “Maybe they would have been a hermit or spent a lot of time in their cells. But their voices are heard in the program and they develop that independence and social skills that they need to survive when they get out of here.”
There is no comprehensive count of the number of U.S. prisoners with autism or intellectual disabilities, although some studies estimate that more than 4% are autistic and nearly 25% report having cognitive disabilities, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics — nearly two times as much. of each in the total population. Many advocates believe this number could be much higher due to pre-prison underdiagnosis or due to ineffective or nonexistent screening in some corrections departments.
The Neurodevelopmental Residential Treatment Unit, located about 20 miles outside of Erie, Pennsylvania, started about three years ago and is the only facility of its kind in the state. The unit houses about 45 men — a small population that helps staff focus on individual treatment and limits some of the prison’s sensory stimulation, Soliwoda said.
There is an exercise area that is not open to the general population of the prison, and prisoners remain in the unit to receive their medications and see specialist treatment staff. They can look at puzzles, yoga mats, or art supplies to help them cope with overwhelming moments. One inmate spends hours every day juggling in the common area to calm his mind – something not allowed in most units.
“My first impression I got was, ‘Wow, this looks more like therapy and rehabilitation for criminals with all these paintings and positive messages around it,’” said Christopher, an inmate diagnosed with autism.
Sean, an inmate diagnosed with autism and an intellectual disability, said he felt safe here. “It’s not like the general population where I would be more prone to being bullied and things like that,” he said. “You learn how to deal with it and how to recognize your emotions.”
Soliwoda said he hopes to bring more programming to the unit as it continues to evolve. For now, however, corrections department officials have no plans to expand the model to other prisons. Critics say this is a mistake: With more than 36,000 people incarcerated in Pennsylvania state prisons, there are likely many more inmates with these disabilities.
“I don’t think there are enough accommodations in our prisons for all kinds of disabilities,” said Leigh Anne McKingsley, senior director of Disability and Justice Initiatives at The Arc, a nonprofit that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For inmates with these problems, she said, “the accommodations are even less.”
“Those disabilities seem to be lost,” McKingsley said.
Because prisons are often closed to the public, it is unclear what accommodations they provide and how many specialized units there are. The Arc has been working to gather that information while offering training to everyone from police to prison staff on better ways to identify and interact with inmates with disabilities.
The Albion unit requires corrections officers to undergo regular training in de-escalation and crisis intervention to maintain a safe environment while providing accommodations. In Indiana, where there is no specialized department for developmental disabilities, Nick Stellema, the state’s American with Disabilities Act coordinator, has helped corrections staff with tools to communicate with nonverbal autistic inmates.
Stellema and other advocates are wary of segregating inmates with disabilities, noting that the ADA is intended to ensure people can integrate with others, even while incarcerated.
“In the free world, these individuals need to communicate with everyone, not just other people with disabilities,” he said. “I think the entire system would benefit from a better understanding of what an accommodation can be.”
But other advocates say separating prisoners with these disabilities is the best option.
“One of the biggest things we hear is that they act out and they’re put in solitary confinement, and that’s even more devastating for them,” said Brian Kelmar, president and founder of the nonprofit Decriminalize Developmental Disabilities. “What we’ve seen is that, after the loneliness, the ways they’ve learned to interact with each other are all reversed. They are going backwards after all the gains they have made.”
At Albion, employees use so-called transitional cells as an intervention when they see certain behavior. The stripped-down cells, equipped with safety features, are a place where prisoners can go to regain control of their emotions as they work to achieve the goals set by the psychiatric staff before being allowed to return to the rest of the prison. department.
“You get time to cool down and think about how long the staff thinks you should have that time to yourself,” said Colin, an inmate diagnosed with autism and schizophrenia. “And instead of immediately committing a violation, you ensure more growth.”
Randy Kulesza, a psychological services specialist with the unit, said the cells are a tremendous help to the inmates and do not jeopardize their chances of parole.
“It definitely reduces the misconduct that these guys have endured. … I think this is a way to address these things before they escalate and still give these guys some hope for the future,” he said.