Houlton Police Department hosts Autism forum Oct. 26

The Houlton Police Department is hosting a forum on Autism on Oct. 26, from 6-8:30 p.m. in the training room of the Houlton Fire Department. This opportunity is open to the public, case managers, law enforcement and educators. There is no cost to attend. The presenter is Matthew Brown.
    Brown is employed as a U.S. Probation Officer. He has held that position for 20 years, serving in Maryland and now presently in Maine, where he relocated to in January 1998.
A Washington, D.C. native, Brown has 24 years of experience in law enforcement. Since 2004, he has served as an Information Specialist with the Autism Society of Maine. Since that time, Brown has created and delivered autism training all over the state of Maine and other states, as well as Canada, to police, fire/ems, dispatchers and other first responders. Matthew is an instructor at the MCJA academy where he trains new officers on how to interact with people who have autism. Brown and his wife, Nancy, have three children. Their middle child, Matthew, has high functioning autism.
A few years ago, the Maine Criminal Justice Academy required that all police officers in Maine receive two hours of mandatory training on interacting with persons diagnosed with autism. The training is now offered to every full-time officer attending the 18-week Basic Law Enforcement Training Program at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.
“The importance of having another training session surfaced when a cadet from this year’s Citizen’s Police Academy approached me and stated that there were 50 people in the Greater Houlton area who suffer from autism,” Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin said. “This particular student has a grandchild living in Houlton who is autistic. When you consider that persons with autism and other developmental disabilities are seven times more likely to come into contact with law enforcement authorities, I felt it was imperative that follow up training was needed.”
Persons with autism often display behaviors that can easily cause a law enforcement officer to misinterpret their conduct or behavior as being suspicious, noncompliant, or threatening, the chief added.
“It is important that law enforcement officers and public safety dispatchers in Houlton and Aroostook County be readily able to identify characteristics that can potentially pose problems for the police such as sensitivity to sounds and touch, processing delays, insistence on routine and difficulties posed in interviewing,” he said. “The safety of law enforcement and those persons who suffer from developmental disabilities is of paramount concern to the Houlton Police Department.”
The forum is designed to promote a community partnership among case managers, educators, law enforcement, fire fighters, and parents that have family members who are autistic or have other developmental disabilities.
Seating is limited so please contact the police department at 532-2287 to register.