NORWICH – The safety risks associated with autism and how care providers and emergency responders should treat individuals with the disorder will be subjects of a conference held in Norwich this weekend.
Family Resource Network, based in Oneonta, offers a conference for parents, educators, human service and autism professionals from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and training sessions for law enforcement professionals and emergency management responders from 12:30 to 4 p.m., both on June 13 and 14 at the Canasawacta Country Club, 261 County Road 44 (Country Club Road) in Norwich.
Professional investigator and law enforcement trainer Dennis Debbaudt is the featured speaker. A proud father of Brad, a young man who has autism, Debbaudt is also an author and autism advocate. He has authored or co-authored over 30 articles, chapters, reports and books, including: Autism, Advocates and Law Enforcement Professionals: Recognizing and Reducing Risk Situations for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and articles for the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
“I’ve had the pleasure of attending one of Mr. Debbaudt’s sessions in the past, and they are entertaining, funny and bring the point home in a real way,” said Shelley Hubal, autism conference coordinator for Family Resource Network.
Because the rate of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has grown to one in every 110 births, safety responders are likely to come in contact with children and adults who have ASD. The training is designed so that professionals will come away with a practical understanding of effective approaches when interacting with individuals affected by autism.
Debbaudt will present videos that illustrate autism-related dispatches and scenarios that offer tips, options and special tactics designed to enhance communications and manage sensory influences that can cause behavioral outbursts. Participants will learn time saving skills, how to build community partnerships and avoid litigation. Current trends, tools and instruction techniques that can be implemented within agencies are included.
The training is appropriate for patrol and investigative law enforcement workers; fire-rescue and EMS responders; school resource officers; 911 telecommunicators; crisis intervention team members; and criminal and juvenile justice professionals.
The community sessions will identify issues of risk and safety to those on the autism spectrum and provide tools and strategies to help manage them at home, school and in the community. Developing inter-agency partnerships will be stressed.
Families will learn what some of the risks for their loved ones are and how to protect them. The following topics will be covered: wandering; safety at home, on campus and when traveling; sharing de-escalation techniques; reducing victimization; proactive disclosure tools-options; 911 data base alerts; and developing an autism emergency handout.
Conferences are also scheduled in Owego and Hamden. Call 432-0001 or go to register@familyrn.org for further details and to register.