Sunday, May 17, 2009

Volunteers attend autism awareness event


Jeffrey Disko, Elizabeth Webster (Easter Seals), Mary Ellen Yatzus (Easter Seals), Payton Fisher, Mimi Rossi and Joey Wilson pile into the holding cell of the Mobile Command Unit from the NH Liquor Commission-Bureau of Enforcement during the Community Bridges Autism Awareness 911 event.

Community Bridges, in collaboration with Easter Seals of Manchester, held an Autism Awareness 9-1-1 registration for families who have a member with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to register their family member with the Concord Police department and the Department of Safety 9-1-1 office. In addition, attendees had the opportunity to meet with police and fire first responders as well as explore the first responder vehicles.

Children and teenagers with ASD are encouraged to have repeated opportunities to meet and interact with law enforcement and other first responders. This is important so they can recognize a person in uniform and know they are safe and proper to approach when help is required. The person with ASD also needs to be repeatedly taught appropriate behavior when interacting with law enforcers, as it is estimated that an individual with ASD is up to seven times more likely to have an encounter with a law enforcer than the neuro-typical population.

The 9-1-1 registration at Community Bridges had police officers and fire fighters on hand to interact with the children. This event was sponsored by the Bagan Foundation.

For more information, please contact Adra Darling at Community Bridges, 225-4153 ext. 387 or email her at adarling@communitybridgesnh.org. Visit the Web site at: www.communitybridgesnh.org.

No comments: