It was a life-saving opportunity at the Antwerp PD.
It could have been bad. A call comes into the Police Department. “A child is playing in the highway. I don’t know who it is.”
“Okay, I’ll be right down.” Victoria hangs up the phone and immediately opens the door to the office. She looks to the right and sees commotion happening on North Main Street in Antwerp.
Arriving on the scene, Captain Victoria Clemens sees a distressed child, about 6 or 7 years of age with someone trying to get them off the street. It’s not going well and the child is not understanding. A mental block is going up.
After talking with the child, Victoria recognizes the symptoms of autism and responds appropriately. Calmly, she talks to him and comforts him. He understands and listens to her calm voice as she sang songs with him.
Mom and dad came and were thankful for the help. It was a life-saving opportunity at the Antwerp PD.
In April of this year, Paulding County Sheriff Jason Landers set up a training seminar in conjunction with Western Buckeye. The goal of the learning period was to help police officers and emergency workers to be able to identify people they are working with who may be autistic.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.
Parents can have difficulties relating and it may be nearly impossible for outside people if they are not properly trained.
The all day training session brought to light some of the problems that can happen, and how to correctly handle the situation from spiraling out of control.
Even though Victoria was not able to attend the first meeting, Police Chief George Clemens was able to get the lady to train the officers in Antwerp, finding the original seminar very valuable. George stated, “We have a Sheriff who relates to the people and helps all the departments in the county be prepared.”
What would have happened before the training probably would not have gone well and the child would not trust a uniformed officer because of the force deemed necessary. Now officials have been trained to handle situations like this and make it optimal for everyone involved.
“I am very thankful,” Cathy explained. “This training is important because it makes them aware.” Cathy Ruiz works for Western Buckeye as a parent mentor to bring knowledge to people about Autism. “When you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” says Cathy. Simply put, this disability has such a wide range that sometimes it can be difficult even for a medical doctor to diagnose this affliction.
Cathy approached Sheriff Jason Landers last year about the subject of Autism awareness, and he realized there was a need for this understanding in law enforcement. In April, the event took place with all of Sheriff’s office deputies and personnel participating. Other agencies were also invited such as the local police departments and Antwerp’s Police Chief, George Clemens, also went. He was so impressed, he had Cathy go to the Antwerp Police Department to engage his staff and officers, including Victoria. The training brought to light the importance of knowledge.
Something Sheriff Landers pointed out, “This is the first time this training has ever happened in Paulding County and it’s already been useful.” Landers and Ruiz are working to get parents to file information with the Sheriff’s office or the local police departments to fill out a short form to help identify children if they might wander, which occurs in nearly 50% of all autistic kids.
Cathy has experience with her own son, Tyler, who has to live with this disorder. He graduated in 2013 from Wayne Trace Jr/Sr High School. Her goal now is to help other parents with identifying triggers and children with the disorder.
“Diet plays a crucial roll,” says Cathy. Food allergies can trigger many problems for people who are autistic. “For Tyler, many areas of his life improved with diet.”
For parents, teachers or authorities who are frustrated, whether behavior, autism or ADHD, there is much help available. Western Buckeye is prepared to guide families with the resources they need to make a difference. Give Cathy a call at 419-399-4711.
Great job to all the work put in by Cathy, the Sheriff and the county officials for recognizing the importance and understanding autism.
