NJ police, firefighters learn about autism

From The Montclair Times in N.J.:

Montclair firefighters and police officers recently took a crash course in understanding autism.

Contingents of 20 first responders attended seminars each day last week and the week before on how to improve their reaction to fires, crimes and missing-person cases involving autistic people.

The disorder, which has a range of manifestations from severe forms, where sufferers are incapable of communicating, to milder types where patients can drive and work, is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States.

In New Jersey, autism is more prevalent than anywhere else nationwide.

According to a recent study, an average of one in every 152 children had the disability across 14 states assessed in 2000 and 2002.

Meanwhile, the rate in New Jersey was one in every 94 children, the highest rate ever documented in the nation.

Autistic subjects pose unique challenges for first responders, who must use modified tactics to search for, rescue, and glean information from them.

Since children with autism have a tendency to wander away from home and have "no fear of real danger," authorities might have only minutes to locate and save them before it is too late, according to Gary Weitzen, the instructor of the recent classes.

Drowning is the leading cause of death among autistic children, who are captivated by and attracted to water. Weitzen, the executive director of a nonprofit that serves autistic people and their families, urged his listeners to have a good sense of where Montclair’s major bodies of water are, and to check those spots immediately upon receiving a report that a person with autism is missing.

Weitzen told his audience last Friday that his autistic son once nearly died in a lake after running away from home.

Remembering that the boy, now 14, had been showing great interest in a lake a quarter-mile from the house, Weitzen’s wife headed there while searching the neighborhood and found her son barely keeping his head above water.

She leaped in and swam to save him, but when the boy grabbed onto her he inadvertently began choking her. Thankfully, an off-duty Asbury Park police officer who resided nearby heard her cries for help, jumped into the lake and rescued both mother and son.

Fires can also be more deadly than usual at the homes of autistic children, Weitzen said, telling firefighters that, if they know they’re rushing to such a house, then they will probably need to break in.

Since autistic children have an inclination to leave their homes and become lost, their caregivers will frequently seal their houses shut like fortresses to prevent the children from running off, Weitzen said. But that can also make entry difficult.

After attending a class, Montclair Detective Lt. James Carlucci said he found the interviewing tips to be particularly beneficial, enabling officers to more effectively question people with autism and to decrease autistic subjects’ stress level following a traumatic event.

Interviewing victims or suspects with the disability can prove especially tough for investigators, since many times autistic people don’t understand slang or body language, can become upset over trivial issues and are difficult to calm down, Weitzen said.

They might use irritating or distracting nervous tics to soothe themselves during an interview, and is not uncommon for autistic subjects to repeat back what their interviewers have just said, to avoid making eye contact and to be evasive.

With most suspects, such behavior would be seen as antagonistic, uncooperative or incriminating, but with autistic people, it can simply be brought on by the disorder, Weitzen explained.

He had advice for civilians, as well. If any residents dwell with someone who has autism, then they should notify authorities and have their houses flagged in the 911 database, thereby giving police and firefighters a better idea of how to manage calls to those addresses, Weitzen said.