Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


An upcoming workshop aims to educate law enforcement and first responders about how to safely interact with those with autism.

The Oxford Center in Green Oak Township is holding a “Autism & Law Enforcement Workshop“ on Wednesday, May 3rd from 11am to 1:30pm.

CEO Tami Peterson told WHMI that at the Center, they have at least 60 children at any time with autism. She says they feel that every officer should be trained correctly on what to do in a situation when they encounter someone with autism and have the right tools and strategies to respond properly and keep everybody safe.

Peterson says they want to make sure officers have the appropriate mental tools and know what to do when they encounter someone at an accident or scene of an incident that could have autism. She says that includes thinking about what they need to do before they approach a child or adult who may have autism.

Peterson says they developed and wrote a program for local law enforcement to give them the support and knowledge they need to make sure that kids are safe and they understand how to best approach them.

The workshop will help train local officers and emergency responders about what to do in an environment with multiple children with autism. If there was ever any reason for children to go into a lockdown setting or an emergency happened, or something at a school, the workshop will detail what it would look like.

Officers in attendance will receive training in identifying characteristics of people with autism, de-escalation techniques, techniques when responding to an emergency at The Oxford Center, interactions with a person(s) with Autism, and communication techniques.

Registration information is available in the provided link.