The primary purpose of this class is to make the lives of people with autism safer and provide public safety personnel and other community service providers with a greater understanding of the unique challenges and needs of people with autism.

Topics covered will include:

• What is autism and how it affects individuals.
• How to recognize possible signs of autism.
• The most frequent calls for service involving autistic children and adults.
• How to navigate the challenges of interviewing a person with autism.
• Methods of reducing stress and anxiety in people with autism (de-escalation strategies).
• Understand the types of crimes people with autism are more likely to become victims.
• How to respond and manage missing person calls involving children or adults with autism.
• Useful strategies for rendering medical care to autistic children and adults.
• Understand the challenge of rescuing autistic individuals from a hazardous scene.