Workshop looks at autism and first responders
BUTLER TWP — Medical professionals are encouraging family members and caregivers of people with autism and other disabilities to introduce themselves to police and emergency responders so they can be familiar if a crisis occurs.
Creating a better understanding about how to treat autistic people during an emergency was one of the goals of “Crisis: First Responders and the Disability Community,” a seminar hosted by Butler County We Belong on Wednesday at the Butler Vagabond Center.
Brenda Cole, strategic program development officer with Community Care Connections, said that police, paramedics, lawyers and emergency room staff don't always know how to appropriately communicate with an autistic person during an emergency. She cited a 2017 incident where a police officer in Florida shot an autistic man's caregiver during a scene in the street.
She said the responsibility of learning about autism and how people react to emergencies falls both on emergency responders and the families and caregivers of people with disabilities.
“The belief is that the professionals will take care of us, but the reality is that we have to take care of ourselves,” Cole said.
Dr. Arvind Venkat, a physician at Allegheny General Hospital, and Joann Migyanka, a professor of special education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, gave a version of a presentation they have given to emergency responders and medical professionals around the country.
Venkat, who works in AGH's emergency department, acknowledged that nurses, doctors and paramedics are not necessarily educated properly on what types of things can alleviate or exacerbate anxiety in autistic patients.
“Frankly, we're not well prepared at this point,” Venkat said.
The number of people diagnosed with autism in the United States has increased significantly in recent years, Migyanka said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 68 children in the country have autism spectrum disorder.
Many of these autistic people have now come of age and are more often being treated in the general medical system instead of a more specialized system, she said.
“We're seeing them out in the community more and more,” Migyanka said.
Migyanka and Venkat both recommended that parents and caregivers set up a time to introduce their loved one to staff at the local police department, ambulance service and even at the nearest emergency room. They also encouraged providing some information about the person in writing that will become part of their medical history.
Autism is a spectrum and each person is different. By making introductions or making information available, caregivers can avoid misunderstandings and help emergency personnel communicate effectively with a patient.
Some common traits of people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder are difficulty communicating, repeating the same phrases over and over, or mixing up pronouns.
“We use a lot of slang and a lot of idioms and they may struggle to understand that,” Migyanka said.Many people with autism are upset by bright or flashing lights and cold objects. Conversely, finding water or warmth, such as a blanket, are comforting, she said.Emergency rooms and ambulances are some of the worst places for autistic people, who are often affected by sensory overload, Venkat said.“We're loud, we like fluorescent lights, there's multiple people talking at once, everything is in a hurry,” he said about hospital care.Venkat said that the medicine does not change when treating a patient with a disability, but the environment and communication often changes.He encourages ambulance services to carry colorful stickers which they can put on a patient's bandage that might prevent the patient from ripping the bandage off.He also recommended dimming the lights in a hospital setting and prescribing edible medication instead of pills for some patients.At the scene of a fire or car crash, an autistic person might not have a sense of the danger present or might have a proclivity to flee, Venkat said.But police and paramedics should try not to tackle, handcuff or restrain an autistic patient.“Physical restraints are almost a universally bad idea in this patient population,” he said.Wednesday's program also included a presentation from the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and several group conversations where people were encouraged to share their thoughts about what they had heard.Butler County We Belong is a local group originally funded by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council that includes parents and community leaders who support the rights of all people.It will host several free events in coming months including a preparedness awareness training March 20 at Butler YMCA and a seminar on interviewing victims with disabilities May 15 at Butler County Community College.The group is now a part of Community Care Connections. For more information, visit communitycareconnect.org.
