Community Corner

Aberdeen PBA Hosts Autism Awareness Training for Law Enforcement Officers

The training showed officers how to identify, interpret and handle autistic individuals to foster safe encounters in the field.

The Aberdeen Township PBA 163 hosted autism awareness training Thursday in the township municipal building through Parents of Autistic Children, known as POAC. 

The two hour training session was provided free of charge to all law enforcement and focused on teaching officers the signs and symptoms of autistic individuals they may encounter in the field. The overall goal, according to Aberdeen Ptl. Craig Hausman, who worked to bring the training to the township, is to create a safe community for all residents with developmental disabilities.

"If you're not experienced with [autism] you might not know how to react or what to expect and you might not deal with the situation in the right way," Hausman said. 

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Specifically, he explained, the training taught officers about autism, common autistic characteristics, response methods for field situations involving an autistic person, safety risks for autistic people and about the difficulties a high-functioning autistic person might encounter in the criminal justice system.

The training also taught de-escalation techniques and restraint or arrest options appropriate for an autistic individual. 

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"There are certain traits, especially with higher functioning people, you may take as being aggressive when they are not," Hausman said. "There are ways to proactively work with individuals and families and advocacy groups to learn how to use tolerance."

POAC is a 501(c)3 charity that has trained over 11,000 law enforcement officers and first responders about autism.


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