Autism, Advocates, and Law Enforcement Professionals: Recognizing and Reducing Risk Situations for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This book was very detailed and full of information. It was helpful training EMS personnel.

This was a very informative book regarding the difficulties law enforcement individuals face when confronted with what looks like "red flag" criminal behavior by individuals who are rarely in control of their behavior and who generaly do not respond to verbal commands. While written five years ago, this is still a timely topic, not just for law enforcement professionals, but for families who care for loved ones diagnosed with Autism. The perspectives of the author are definitely written from the heart as well as from a solid professional foundation. Anyone who is caring for a loved one afflicted with Autism should read this book and put into practice the recommendations identified.

This is a must read for all law enforcement personnel, fire departments, emergency medical technicians and especially parents of children with autism. It is so important that communities use this resource to recognize the characteristics of persons with autism and strategies to help should they encounter a person with this neurological disorder. As a parent, this was a real eye- opener and made me realize how much work and education needs to take place in my own community. Thank you Mr. Debbaudt for this book!

Debbaudt does an excellent job on two fronts" First, explaining to law enforcment professionals how to identify and deal with autistic people, but also encouraging parents and caretakers to take responsibility for educating their loved ones on how to deal with the police in order to avoid tragedies. People with developmental disabilities are seven times more likely to interact with the police than people without disabilities. This is an important issue, and this book is an important contribution towards helping ameliorate a significant problem.

As a mother of a four year old autistic child, I'm plagued with the worries of "what will happen to my child when I'm gone." As such, we have set up our wills and our estates to take care of him. However, there are even more practical issues to worry about that Dennis Debbaudt brings to light in his book. People with develeopmental disorders are seven times more likely to come into contact with law enforcement than regular citizens. Our autistic children are socially impared, and the ignorance of this disorder is rampant among police ranks and other "first responders" to an emergency situation. Often "autistic traits" can be mistenterpreted as drug abuse, hositlity and beliegerence, dementia, or suspicious behavior that can appear as criminal intent. People with autism have been accidentally killed in crime situations, or have given false confessions to crimes they didn't commit largely due to police ignorance of this disorder.This is a good primer for police and other first responders. It gives a good overview of why certain investigation techiques are not effecitve in dealing with autism. The second half of the book is directed at parents and caregivers - with good tips about informing local police of your child's condition, keeping your child safe at home, in school, and while traveling. There are also tips on spreading autism awareness to police and other first responders on a grassroots basis.