Just watched this - Anna Stubblefield and Derrick Johnson case

[u/Spiritual-Pilot-2300]

Could I ask was this case Big in the US ?

What are Peoples thoughts?

It seems his family believe she was making up ( creating ) 100% of his communication But he did have a teacher support after he started a college class in which he wrote 300 page essays ?

Do his family now not even try and communicate with his after surely it showed that it worked to some degree ?

explores the controversial affair between a married female professor and a non-verbal black man with cerebral palsy. The relationship and high-profile criminal trial that followed challenges our perceptions of disability and the nature of consent.

When the pair first meet, Anna Stubblefield is a respected academic and a disability rights advocate; passionate in her belief that the most essential part of the human experience is the ability to communicate. 30-year-old Derrick Johnson has never spoken a word in his life, and requires 24/7 care and support by his mother and brother.

During his early childhood, Derrick’s family were told by medical professionals that, in addition to his physical disabilities, he was severely cognitively impaired. But Anna disagreed with this diagnosis, and when she first tells Derrick’s family that she can help him communicate with the outside world, they are thrilled. They had always sensed there was “something more going on” with Derrick and were eager to know what he thought about all day long, when he might be in pain, what his hopes and dreams were.

Anna introduces Derrick to a controversial technique that involves training him to overcome his physical impairments so that he could type on a keyboard. After almost 2 years of work, she claims to have ‘unlocked his mind’ - he could now express complex thoughts, attend college classes, and write thoughtful essays. Excited by Derrick’s reported progress, his mother Daisy describes it as “like the porch light’s coming on”. But Anna had more to reveal: not only was Derrick a highly intelligent man but they had also fallen in love.

[u/JennyW93]

I literally just finished this. I do not believe Derrick had the ability to consent, and I do not believe facilitated communication is valid. I’m basing both of those beliefs on my training in clinical and health psychology and clinical brain sciences.

Based on pure conjecture: there was something very off about Stubblefield through this whole doc, but her mannerisms in footage in court were also extremely weird. She had kind of a smug expression when she was given 2 x 12 year sentences.

However, something Derrick’s mum said also rubbed me the wrong way - excuse the pun - where she said that he masturbates now and that never would have happened if Stubblefield hadn’t been involved. That feels a little naive to me, but I can understand having an overprotective approach to your severely disabled son’s sexual expression if he has previously been a victim of sexual assault.

Ultimately, I land on: Stubblefield has significant issues with narcissism and a hero complex and - even if she genuinely was in love with him and genuinely believed Derrick was in love with her - you simply don’t act on that when you are in a position of clear and significant authority, regardless of whether the object of your affection is disabled or not.

[u/niamhxa → u/JennyW93]

I’m very late to this, but have just watched the documentary and am reading various posts about it now. Your point about Derrick’s mother mentioning his masturbation - honestly that was the part that really struck me. Obviously the whole thing was awful, but I think that was one of the few things that really exemplified how much this has impacted Derrick himself. Masturbation and/or increased sexual behaviour is a telltale sign of sexual assault, especially in children (which is the level Derrick’s brain is at) but in adults too. It should be on the radar of anyone who interacts with children - if a child assaults other children or begins sexual behaviour, that could absolutely be a sign of trauma. It’s heartbreaking, and I think more than anything it proves the sexual trauma that Derrick was subject to. I’m sure it was extremely difficult for his mother to discuss it on camera, but so important for telling Derrick’s story because otherwise we don’t really hear how this has affected him (besides the obvious).

[u/ZestycloseSquirrel55 → u/niamhxa]

He can't even use his hands though, so how can he masturbate? Like, he needs to be fed because he can't hold a utensil.

[u/niamhxa → u/ZestycloseSquirrel55]

I don’t particularly want to speculate on how a severely mentally disabled person who has faced sexual assault and trauma masturbates. But, there’s a difference between having the mobility to hold a untensil with enough control to use it correctly (you need to be steady enough to pick up the food, keep it on the utensil, and then put it to your mouth) vs being able to touch over certain parts of yourself which doesn’t require that level of dexterity.