Policing Challenged Individuals: Autism/Alzheimers [TX]

Overall General Course Goal(s):

Autism:

Learning Objectives:

The learning objectives for the study on Autism are:

The learning objectives for the study of Alzheimer’s are:

SUMMARY

The law enforcement profession is ever evolving. Whether it is year to year, month to month, or even day to day, public safety needs to be attuned to the changes in the communities we serve. Our jobs have become more than just responding to calls to arrest someone or enforce traffic laws. Our jobs as officers have developed into our being social workers as well. When people run out of options or have no idea what to do, they call 911. They dial those numbers because they know that WE WILL SHOW UP.

Alzheimer’s and dementia have created new challenges for public safety. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 6 million individuals in the United States and over 25 million people worldwide have some form of dementia. While many of us are familiar with the issues related to individuals with dementia wandering away from caregivers or care-partners, we may not understand how a domestic assault could potentially not be a “domestic assault” when the suspect has lost enough memory to not realize the victim is actually his or her spouse. Officers also may not understand how grandma doesn’t remember giving her money to someone, only to accuse them of stealing it from her.

This course will give you a better understanding of the behaviors you may see from someone who is living with dementia. You will learn how dementia affects the brain and why many of the unusual behaviors occur. You will discover how someone with dementia begins to lose touch with reality, and also how the caregiver or care-partner loses their loved one, where both seem to become strangers to one another. 

Our hope at the Training Response Network is to give officers insight into the behaviors associated with dementia so they can do their jobs more effectively, represent their agency in a positive light, and develop positive relationships with their communities.     

The job of law enforcement is changing rapidly and we're regularly running across new situations. Years ago, law enforcement was a job of arresting criminals, dealing with criminal issues, and enforcing traffic laws. But as time has progressed, more and more social work has been included. This is work that is not necessarily law enforcement related. One of the issues we’ve had calls about is related to autism.

Autism is an invisible disability. Unless there are some underlying circumstances, most people with autism do not look any different from anybody else. But they will BEHAVE differently, and without education about autism, an officer can interpret this behavior as defiant, aggressive, drug-induced, or even dangerous. But when dealing with a person who has autism, it may not be any of these things.

As an officer, you are trained to respond to YOUR perceived behavior of a person. This training is designed to educate you so that you can recognize autism when you encounter it and respond appropriately when dealing with a person who has autism, before it is too late.

This course will train you to pick up on autistic behaviors when you interact with someone who may have autism and you have not been informed that they have autism. What you learn during this course will give you an idea of the BEHAVIORS to look for so that when you start to interact with somebody who has autism, you can handle the situation effectively and not worsen the situation. The goal of this training is to have peaceful encounters for positive outcomes. 

During this course you will learn:

• Autism is sensory driven
• No two people with autism are the same
• Autism is a developmental disability, not a mental disorder
• Autism affects social skills and communication skills
• Autism behaviors, noncompliance, and self-injurious behavior
• People with autism are often literal thinkers
• Autism and fixations
• Autism and criminal behavior
• Autism and sex crimes