Why You Should Train for Contacts with Autistic Persons

POLICE contributing editor Doug Wyllie speaks with Seattle Police Officer Chris Christman about what officers need to know when contacting autistic subjectes.
POLICE contributing editor Doug Wyllie speaks with Seattle Police Officer Chris Christman about what officers need to know when contacting autistic subjectes.
Lt. Brian Corletto, of the Whittier (CA) Police Department, is leading his department’s efforts to educate the community about individuals on the autism spectrum as Autism Acceptance Month is observed across the nation during April. The veteran officer of 16 years understands the need to create understanding and acceptance not just as a first responder but also as a parent.
Police contact with a person on the Autism spectrum can stem from a missing persons report, a medical emergency, a criminal complaint, or just about anything else. Training and education can help keep officers and individuals with an autism spectrum disorder safe.
After two hours, troopers received a call about a person who had fallen through the ice on a pond about 4.5 miles from the group home. Troopers could hear someone in the water calling for help.
The Addison (IL) Police Department is now using smart phones to give officers information on subjects on the autistic spectrum, subjects with dementia, and others who have special needs.
People with ASD might show no outward signs of their condition so their actions and responses might be misunderstood. Here are some tips for encounters with autistic subjects.
The Newport News (VA) Police Department has launched a new program aimed at increasing officers' awareness of individuals in the community with autism spectrum disorder and providing those officers with information to help keep people with autism safe.
Deputies with the Santa Rosa County (FL) Sheriff's Office employed the assistance of the agency's bloodhound K-9s to locate a 3-year-old autistic boy who had wandered into thick woods in the Florida Panhandle on Monday.
Police officers with the Newark Police Department have donated a new service dog to a 10-year-old boy with autism after learning that his previous dog had died when it was struck by a car.
A woman posted a lengthy thank you note on Facebook, expressing her gratitude for the actions of a DC Metro police officer who helped calm her young autistic son who was having an episode on a commuter train.
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