A 4-year-old boy named Andrew, who has autism, became overwhelmed on a train platform and his mom couldn’t calm him down. While most people stared, a kind Washington, D.C. Metro police officer stepped in to help, and calmed the boy by simply holding his hand.
A shooting in Florida raised many questions about the interaction between police and people with autism. Now there is a push to raise awareness within law enforcement. The video that came out of Miami on July 18 played out like a nightmare for parents of autistic children. Police respond to a 911 call, misinformed and seemingly unwilling to listen. Communication broke down and a life hung in the balance. In this case, a cop shot the caretaker of a man with autism. Actress Holly Robinson Peete and her husband former NFL player Rodney have been brutally honest about the challenges of raising a young child of their own on the spectrum, specifically as it relates to police. Their show “For Peete’s Sake” airs on the O Network. In one scene, Holly and Rodney talk to their son RJ about how to respond to police. Holly said that she wants her children to revere and respect police, but she also wants law enforcement to understand what autism is and need training to know what it looks like in the community. In the New York area, there are examples of collaborative efforts between the community and police that are working. Westchester County was one of the first counties to tackle autism as standalone training because there are challenges for police. Department Community Mental Health Commissioner Mark Herceg said officers are trained how to engage, what to say and what not to say, how to not take something personally, and more. If anything positive comes from these situations is that they raise awareness and will force police department to confront issues like autism.
Boy with autism calls 911 after his teddy bear goes missing in New Jersey
Policing and autism
The UK National Police Autism Association (NPAA) is today aware of an online petition by Paula McGowan asking for mandatory training for all police officers on autism. The petition was launched by Ms McGowan as part of her campaign to introduce mandatory autism training for healthcare professionals, following the death of her son Oliver in 2016.
One of the NPAA’s main aims is to ensure that front-line police officers are given training on autism and related conditions, and that the training given is condition-specific. It is for this reason that we welcome and support this petition.
NPAA Head of Policy Adam O’Loughlin commented: “This petition highlights the absolute need for all police services to ensure that their front line officers are sufficiently trained to recognise the outward traits displayed by many autistic people and to react appropriately. We are more than happy to support it.”
The NPAA works closely with all UK police forces – we are aware that many frontline officers have either received autism awareness training or are due to receive training soon.
About us: The NPAA is an independent group supporting – and run by – UK police officers, staff and volunteers who are affected by autism (including Asperger syndrome) and other neurodiverse conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and depression. We welcome all police personnel with a personal, family or professional interest in these conditions.
Swat Team
This week a North Carolina mom told the Raleigh City Council that police “terrorized” her parents and her 6-year-old special-needs son.
A Selective Enforcement Unit (SEU) team—Raleigh’s version of SWAT—had a warrant to search Michael and Wanda Clark’s home last November. Michael’s nephew, Brian Clark, was a suspect in a recent armed robbery. Police found a box Brian had left at the scene of the crime with his uncle’s name and address on it, Indy Week reports. So they paid a visit to the Clark home, where Michael and Wanda’s daughter LaDonna had dropped off her son, who has autism and cerebral palsy, before going to work.
Brian Clark did not live at his uncle’s house and was not there at the time. Nonetheless, police forced Michael, Wanda, and their grandson to walk out of the house and sit on the ground. “On a 35-degree and rainy night, my son with autism was forced out of the home with military-style rifles aimed at him and made to sit on the cold, wet ground for over an hour by RPD SWAT,” LaDonna told the city council Tuesday
Read the full article here and watch the video below