Responding to emergencies is never one-size-fits-all, which is why Seward’s police and fire departments attended a training to help them serve people with autism better.
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, about eight people attended an autism training session by the Autism Action Partnership at the Seward Police Department. It was followed by an evening training at the Seward Fire Station with about 20 first responders in attendance.
Chief of Police Brian Peters said he heard about the Autism Action Partnership and thought having the organization present to Seward’s first responders would be a great opportunity to better serve the community. He said it is important that, as an increasing number of people are being identified as having autism, first responders understand their needs.
Peters said they learned that everyone who has autism displays different behaviors, and the training will help first responders identify if someone is autistic and therefore may have more specific needs.
Fire Chief Tayler Mifflin said they learned that autistic people process situations differently than people who do not have autism. So it is important for first responders to slow down, give more detail and be empathetic when explaining things to someone with autism.
“Autistic or not, everybody should treat everybody with respect and understanding,” Mifflin said. “If we respond to an emergency for anybody, we’re going to be as professional and courteous as possible.”
The training also featured a discussion about behaviors that are common in people with autism, such as communication impairments and sensitivity to loud noises or bright lights, and the most effective ways to interact with people with autism.
Mifflin said the instructors were phenomenal and had deep knowledge on the topic. He enjoyed that the training was a partnership between the police department, fire department and the AAP.
“It just shows the networking that we can get to better serve the people we have,” he said. “In my role for the organization, it was cool to see all my members show up to see how they can better serve our community and the individuals in it.”
Peters said the first responders who attended worked together and were fully engaged in the training.
“It was the kind of training that, as you gather this information, you have the opportunity to look back and think, ‘Oh, this person I was dealing with in this situation displayed some of these behaviors, and I just didn’t realize at the time that they were possibly autistic,’” he said.
The SPD also purchased sensory kits for each of its six patrol vehicles. The kits have items to help overstimulated people, such as noise-cancelling headphones, sunglasses, an hourglass timer and fidget toys. Peters said he is looking into getting the kits for the Rescue Squad as well.
“We’re here to serve our whole community and people with any medical ailment, medical illness, if they’re autistic, anything like that,” Mifflin said. “So, us training and being prepared to respond to an autistic individual is super important to us to make sure they’re getting the quality care that they need and that we can make them as comfortable as possible.”
