Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 and their Awe-tism Connections Team, along with the Caribou, Limestone and Stockholm Special Education Departments, hosted their first-ever Autism Safety Education Training (ASET) on Monday at the Caribou Performing Arts Center. The program was sponsored in part by RSU 39, Cary Medical Center, Aroostook Chiefs of Police and the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department.
Despite the abrupt snowstorm that hit Caribou on Monday afternoon, those who have a special interest in children with autism including parents and educators, health care workers and first responders came out to listen to autism safety trainer Matt Brown, who has more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement, 10-plus years delivering training to first responders, dispatchers, school systems, corrections and courts, and is also the parent of a child with autism. Brown travels throughout Maine training first responders to recognize characteristics of those with autism, and teaching them the appropriate interactions with those individuals.
Brown began the training with an explanation of the training objectives he hoped to accomplish during the two-hour discussion. His objectives included 1) to define, explain and discuss Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities, 2) to detail the specific characteristics unique to this population that impact upon safety, 3) to provide specific techniques to interact safely with this population and 4) to inspire the community to establish proactive developmental disabilities safety programs.
Some of the biggest problem areas regarding this issue, Brown said, are that first responders traditionally receive no training in this area, school systems may lack comprehensive training in crisis prevention and response and the general public is generally very unaware of the safety issues.
According to studies by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) one in every six children is affected by a developmental disability. The CDC also reports that in recent years we’ve seen a major increase in prevalence of developmental disabilities, including a 17.1 percent increase in general, a 33 percent increase in children with ADHD and an astonishing 289.5 percent increase in the autism spectrum. It was also reported that males are affected twice as much as females in these areas.
Brown explained that these numbers could simply be due to the ability of physicians to correctly diagnose these disabilities, but nevertheless, the increased numbers are alarming.
Brown pointed out that first-and-foremost the training was meant to stress safety for both children on the autism spectrum and those first responders or parents who may find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation while interacting with a child on the spectrum.
“There are many characteristics of autism that have an impact specifically on safety,” said Brown. That’s the key thing I hope to address here. This is a class on autism safety. Many people with autism have no sense of danger. A lot of times they can put themselves in harm’s way so quickly and so easily. Many of the characteristics that they display on a daily basis can be easily misinterpreted by individuals who encounter them, specifically police officers. Unfortunately, many police officers don’t have the training to recognize these signs, and they can misinterpret a situation, which can turn the situation bad very quickly.”
“Persons on the autism spectrum often wander and drown; they routinely put themselves in risky situations and do not react in a crisis or emergency in a predictable manner,” Brown explained.
Brown stated that another goal he hopes to accomplish more and more through his training is to encourage communities to become more proactive when it comes to things like establishing safety plans. This can mainly be achieved by parents with children with autism helping to make others aware of their child’s situation, whether it be discussing it with the school systems or local law enforcement.
“The biggest issue that we have to overcome is the fact that there is virtually no training in this area for people like first-responders, law enforcement and educators,” he said. This is something Brown hopes to change through his education training.
“They often present with behavior that well-meaning first-responders can easily misinterpret as hostile or aggressive, and can ‘melt down’ if they become overwhelmed…It is absolutely critical that first-responders and others receive training to think differently in these situations that require much patience and care,” Brown said.
“It’s getting a little bit better, but I’ve traveled to other states and I have to tell you, it’s woefully inadequate. I went to take part in a training in Idaho, and I couldn’t even find a mention of the word autism in their police training standards, at all,” Brown added. “We’ve been doing this training process in Maine for 10 years, so we are making progress and we are getting better than in some other places, but it’s amazing how little training is available.”
In the slideshow that Brown presented at the training, he outlined some of the more effective practices that can be implemented to assist victims on the autism spectrum. They included more training for police, prosecutors, victim advocates and judicial personnel, proactively working with disability and victim organizations to ensure knowledge of how to access victim services, interviewing victims only after gathering important information on their unique challenges and providing them with constant reassurance and information on the process at all stages. Brown explained that the last of these practices may be the most important, which requires a first-responder to simply be patient and explain exactly what they are going to do or ask before they physically or verbally do so.
As for parents of autistic children, Brown also outlined some helpful tips that they could use to provide a safer environment for everyone involved. Brown encouraged parents to register with local first-responders, which they can do online at www.maine.gov/dps/bec. He also stressed them to familiarize with local police/fire/EMS services, which can give these first-responders an additional heads-up to what children in their communities have autism.
Next, he urged parents to provide their child’s school with a safety checklist, or a plan in case an emergency situation arises at school. Parents can also script 911 calls and other emergencies, so as to prepare those involved in the event of an actual emergency. They can develop a safety plan at home, which they can then share with their neighbors to inform them of what to do in case of an emergency.
In regard to the community, Brown had a community action plan with a list of steps community members can take to ensure the safety of children with autism. The plan includes encouraging registration, initiating crisis management plans, initiate wandering response plans in the schools, reaching out to local autism and advocacy organizations to partner with them, gathering all community resources to sponsor a community-wide autism safety training and to establish yearly community days.
Those who wish to learn more about Brown’s Autism Safety Education and Training can visit his website at www.ASET911.com
