Q:
My son has been arrested. He has a diagnosis of FASD. What do I do first?

Answer:
I hope you are prepared in advance for this moment. Because there is much you can do to be prepared, and all of this preparation is easily done in a week or so.

Let's assume you are not prepared.

1. Hire a lawyer. You son is entitled to the same constitutional protections that are given to a senator found with cocaine in his car. The lawyer is the first phone call and you keep calling until you have someone who will act now. Acting now usually means a phone call to the police to stop all further questions from the police to your son about the”alleged” incident.
2. Do not talk to the police. Let the lawyer do ALL the talking. Parents who try to explain help the police put their son in jail. The constitutional right to silence is used by rich guys in trouble for a good reason. Start right now learning about the legal system and accept while most of the people in the system are good people doing their jobs professionally, they are not there to help your son. The system works for the community, not you ! Your defence lawyer is the only one who is on your son's side.
3. Start preparing now for a guilty verdict. This means learning what you can do now to keep your son out of jail, or be in a less difficult jail.
4. Read : “The Several Languages of Law” and “Honouring our Past”. These articles were written for parents in an attempt to answer this question of what to do when an arrest has happened.

 ****more to come - still under construction*****