When People With Autism Encounter Police

With guest host John Donvan.

Missed social cues are awkward. But what happens when poor communication is a matter of life and death?

People with autism are significantly more likely to have an encounter with law enforcement over the course of their lives. Now, more police officers are being trained to better understand their interactions with men, women and children on the autism spectrum.

What should first responders know when a situation involves someone who is autistic? And how can people with autism and those who love them help authorities de-escalate events with the potential to be dangerous?

GUESTS

Barry Prizant, Director, Childhood Communication Services; adjunct professor, Brown University; speech-language pathologist with 45 years experience in autism research; author of “Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism”

Michael John Carley, Founder and former executive director, GRASP – Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership; author of the forthcoming book “The Book of Happy, Positive and Confident Sex for Adults on the Autism Spectrum…and Beyond!”

Emily Iland, Author, advocate, educator in the autism field; writer and producer of “BE SAFE The Movie”

Carolyn Gammicchia, Disability advocate, and mother of a son with autism; she spent 21 years as a police officer in Michigan; she and her husband founded L.E.A.N. On Us (the Law Enforcement Awareness Network)

For more, visit http://the1a.org.

© 2017 WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio.

Copyright 2017 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.