Autism Training for First Responders: A Valuable Time Spent

[janetupnorth]

Saturday, I went to a 3-4 hour training session on Autism for First Responders. It was led by a lady out of the Madison, WI area whose 2nd son has autism. Although it was beautiful out Saturday and I was hesitant to leave home to go, it was a well-spent time. I'd definitely do it again even next Saturday!

Excellent information, even brought a 5 year old in with autism for us to work with. It definitely challenges all you "were taught" on how to handle someone medically and socially on a call and in an emergency.

This lady does caregiver training too and has some excellent safety kits, etc.

If you have a child anywhere on the spectrum, feel free to PM me and I'd be glad to give you her site to browse for information and safety tips!

Currently about 1 in 100 children are diagnosed! That means 1% of our population or about 1 in 65 families deals with this. We have to stretch ourselves to be able to deal with this.

Oh, let me add, this lady was GREAT! No debates on "what is the cause" or "who is to blame" or how you should handle things. Just good factual, helpful information!

 

[KellyTheChef]

Re: Autism/AspergersJanet...while I think Evan is getting further and further away from the diagnosis of Autism, I would still be interested in that link! I have a neighbor who has a very good friend with a son who is very much Autistic. I would love to pass it along to her!

 

[dannyzmom]

Re: Autism/AspergersI have two very dear friends - one with a son with Autism and one on the low end of the Asperger's spectrum...would you email me the info please at [email protected]?
Thanks!

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/AspergersComing at you...it is the site of the lady that did our training. She has some good safety links on the bottom right.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

Janet...while I think Evan is getting further and further away from the diagnosis of Autism, I would still be interested in that link! I have a neighbor who has a very good friend with a son who is very much Autistic. I would love to pass it along to her!

So glad he (Evan) is progressing! The training was scary in a way. My son had many of the "symptoms" at about age 2 but seems to be clear of them all now. I asked her about that. She says she thinks many are genetically predisposed to it but don't know what the "trigger" is for each person and that it may be different for many. If they get exposed to too much of what their trigger is, they may develop it but many move on and are fine.

I wonder now if taking my son totally away from dairy for awhile when he started to have issues helped prevent him from possibly having issues.

...and very thankful he is smart, healthy, happy, vocal, and socially capable.

 

[KellyTheChef]

Re: Autism/AspergersHe is off of cow's milk (only has Soy) but other than that we aren't off dairy totally.

He was originally diagnosed with Speech Apraxia with Autistic tendancies. The older he gets, and the more vocal he is becoming...the further away from the Autistic spectrum he is showing. He WANTS to interact now...and his eye contact is better...and he is PLAYING with his toys now, not just looking at them and arranging them. So, thankfully, he seems to be progressing PAST the autism. We have been actively working with him on all of these things for well over 18 months, though...so who knows where he would be if we wouldn't have been working with him like we have. No matter what, I knew God would help us through this step by step. I am thankful and Praise God that he has touched Evan and helped him so much!

Thanks for the link!

 

[DessertDivaFL]

Re: Autism/AspergersJanet, my son was diagnosed with autism at 2 1/2. He is 16 now and still has all the characteristics and manners. He is very verbal which is not typical but he is in a high functioning autism class in high school and he does very well. I am worried about his future. Is there any information on autism adults or is this for newly diagnosed children?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

Coming at you...it is the site of the lady that did our training. She has some good safety links on the bottom right.

I would love to have this information also...thanks bunches

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/AspergersI guess I can just post it since I'm not affiliated with her, it is just information. She does training for caregivers, First Responders, etc. I was especially interested in the safety aspects of having ID cards available for them to give someone, etc.Autism Collaboration - www.autism.orgDanielle - I asked her a bit about the adult rates, and she didn't know a whole lot about it. One thing she talked about a lot is the prevalence of these children becoming adults and drivers and if they get pulled over speeding they are often mistaken as insubordinate or disrespectful, especially if they have echolalia and the officer doesn't recognize it.That is where she recommended an ID card that could be handed to the officer or if medical an EMT so they knew and if training would hopefully respond in a more suitable manner and not mistake the behavior as drug, alcohol or other psychological issues.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

Janet, my son was diagnosed with autism at 2 1/2. He is 16 now and still has all the characteristics and manners. He is very verbal which is not typical but he is in a high functioning autism class in high school and he does very well. I am worried about his future. Is there any information on autism adults or is this for newly diagnosed children?

She said that is the thing, once diagnosed and autistic around ages 2-3, but the time they reach 5 and still have symptoms, they will always be autistic. They will never "grow out" of it.

 

[DessertDivaFL]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

She said that is the thing, once diagnosed and autistic around ages 2-3, but the time they reach 5 and still have symptoms, they will always be autistic. They will never "grow out" of it.

That is correct. He will be autistic for the rest of his life and I have accepted that a long time ago. I know he won't drive but he is capable of washing his own clothes and doing a halfway job of basic hygiene. He will always need to be looked after and that is OK. He is happy most of the time and that is because he is loved, no matter what.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

That is correct. He will be autistic for the rest of his life and I have accepted that a long time ago. I know he won't drive but he is capable of washing his own clothes and doing a halfway job of basic hygiene. He will always need to be looked after and that is OK. He is happy most of the time and that is because he is loved, no matter what.

Will your son be able to live away from you someday or have a caregiver other than you?

(Just curious about his function if you don't mind my asking.) I always have an intense curiosity to continually learn about medical stuff and the aspects and have taught my daughter to just "politely ask" if she ever wonders about someone's condition.

I hope I'm teaching her right in telling her to "just ask". Most people seem receptive...don't want to offend anyone who isn't open to share, but I feel I cannot relate or help them unless I can understand them more.

 

[pampered.chris]

Re: Autism/AspergersGuess I should have read through the entire post before I pm'd you. Sorry!!

 

[byrd1956]

Re: Autism/AspergersJanet, Thank you for sharing the site. I will share it w/the teachers @ school. We seem to be seeing more and more students with this, whether mild or severe.

 

[pamperedcindy]

Re: Autism/AspergersThank you for posting the info Janet, my son is on the high end of the spectrum but wasnt fully diagnosed until he was 10. I kept telling the doctors and the school that he needed help and was'nt sure what his learning problem was. They all told me he was just ADHD, then at 10 they said opps.

Thanks again
Cindy

 

[DessertDivaFL]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

Will your son be able to live away from you someday or have a caregiver other than you?

(Just curious about his function if you don't mind my asking.) I always have an intense curiosity to continually learn about medical stuff and the aspects and have taught my daughter to just "politely ask" if she ever wonders about someone's condition.

I hope I'm teaching her right in telling her to "just ask". Most people seem receptive...don't want to offend anyone who isn't open to share, but I feel I cannot relate or help them unless I can understand them more.

When my mom took my son to Las Vegas, a lady accused my son of being drunk because he doesn't walk "normal" and was staggering. He was actually sick from the cigarette smoke and they were heading back to the hotel. Some people are just ignorant.

I highly encourage people to teach the younger generation to not cast judgment so quickly anymore. You really don't know unless you ask.

I can't see my son living on his own. Maybe in a group home setting would be an option. He gets very attached to certain people and when he doesn't see them for a while he gets depressed and angry. And on top of everything, when he reached puberty we had a new set of sensitivities to learn.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

When my mom took my son to Las Vegas, a lady accused my son of being drunk because he doesn't walk "normal" and was staggering. He was actually sick from the cigarette smoke and they were heading back to the hotel. Some people are just ignorant.

I highly encourage people to teach the younger generation to not cast judgment so quickly anymore. You really don't know unless you ask.

I can't see my son living on his own. Maybe in a group home setting would be an option. He gets very attached to certain people and when he doesn't see them for a while he gets depressed and angry. And on top of everything, when he reached puberty we had a new set of sensitivities to learn.

I find that interesting...

Knowing that the hormones and chemicals in the body are affecting things...and learning that many people had success with electrolyte and enzyme balance work...

So, does he have ADDED sensitivities or did any of the old go away?

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Autism/Aspergers

When my mom took my son to Las Vegas, a lady accused my son of being drunk because he doesn't walk "normal" and was staggering. He was actually sick from the cigarette smoke and they were heading back to the hotel. Some people are just ignorant.

I'd say uneducated and uninformed. That's why I was so pleased with the class. I knew the prone to wander like with alzheimers. I DID NOT know that most on the spectrum have some sort of gait or pigeon-toed walk to tip-toe walk. I also DID NOT know the affinity to water and often heights. I kind of knew about the pressure issue.

Most people until recently don't have an exposure to these conditions. All of us have to learn. Teachers I think (as an occupation) are forced to learn first. Emergency personnel and police and fire won't learn until they encounter unless educated. We have less likely-hood of being forced to deal with someone since they usually have a caregiver/parent.

Plus, with older volunteer personnel, this goes against everything they were taught for years.

Wandering when young in the past has meant a patient on alcohol or drugs, a blood-sugar disorder or a traumatic situation that has stunned them. It hasn't equaled a child that has just wandered.

It stretches the traditional thought process and when the old is being taught, the new has to be taught to.

That is why Chris talks about the education, and also ID cards and also encourages parents to take their kids to meet local police and fire personnel if the kid can handle it so the emergency personnel get some exposure and education on what to do.

 

[DandyG03]

Re: Autism/AspergersThanks for posting this. I may have to talk with my hubby about getting this lady to do a class for our EMT's here in town. My hubby is an EMT and my son already has his emergency medical number through the county system. Oh duh, btw my son has PDD-NOS a form of autism. He is about 98% nonverbal most of the time his therapists can tell what he is trying to say but I know him best as moms usually do. Danny will be 7 in December. I do believe children with autism are genetically predisposed to the gene and either something internally or environmental brings it out, like cancer in a person - kwim? I just went on a walk for autism in Waterloo and I plan to volunteer for the walk in Madison through Friends of Autism. My son also gets in home aba therapy through WEAP(highly highly recommend this company) but will be going post intensive in April of next year and after that we will be paying out of pocket for his therapy needs. Which isn't cheap at all and we want to keep him in therapy for as long as possible and as long as he is progressing well. It's about $2400-3600 a month and insurance doesn't cover one bit of ANYTHING autism related in the state of WI. I've also rallied at the capitol for passing the Insurance to cover autism bill but of course our state government officials(some of them, Fitzgerald and Hubasch both Republicans) are trying to do everything they can to get this bill to a no vote state and revamp it so it fits their wants. It's total BS. Ahh listen to me I'm totally getting OT here sorry. Anyways I really think more counties should get this type of EMT/emergency training with children that have autism. My son wondered off on me once, and I can tell you it's the scariest experience to ever go through as a parent but it's just a million times different when you know your child can't yell back "here I am or mom, help me?" when your frantically searching for them. I later found him down the street swinging in the park, he crossed a busy street to get there, I thought I had locked our front door - I always double a triple check but that day I messed up and told him to go play and find something to do while I was making a quick phone call all the while thinking he was safe in our living room and in the matter of less then 10 minutes he was gone. I don't think my heart ever pounded so hard in all my life. It was the second scariest day that I've ever had as a parent. Always always no where your children are no matter if they have autism or not, it only takes a second and then they are gone.

Oh and my son also loves water too, which scares the dickens out of me too. Sometimes I wish there were two of me lol.

So thank you for taking this training, you could save a autistic child's life someday, a a mom of one I thank you personally.*hugs*

 

[tlag1986]

Re: Autism/AspergersJanet,

It sounds like you got a great deal out of your training. As a nurse in ER, ICU, and Surgery autism can cause a great deal of trouble when treating these kids. It is hard if they aren't highly functioning to get them to understand what it is we are trying to do. Then you take into effect a growing or grown boy 17-21 their size and strength make the simplest thing very difficult. I have been thrown across a room, b/c I could not get a young man to understand I needed to start and IV (His parents weren't at the hospital yet he was home alone and sick when other family got there).

My nephew is a highly functioning autistic young man. He drives, and does fairly well. The slightest change :yuck: in his plan can throw him off. His sister is 3 years younger and is his extra eyes if he drives, which is not often. She has been there for him more times then you would ever think.

He is in his senior year of HS. He has an aide to help him keep focused and has had one from 1st grade. We live far to rural to have any structured classes that would help him.

He was accidentally served alcohol at my DS's wedding and would have drank it if he hadn't told my DD it tasted funny. She tried the (virgin) strawberry daiquiri and realized it was a real one. When he ordered it he just said strawberry daiquiri, and with his size and stature he was not questioned. My BIL was shocked he was served, and I told him "look he is a man child not to mention if you don't get him into a conversation you would not know he is autistic". He just went up and asked and received what he asked for.

He is our blessing we love him and he will turn 18 January. Each milestone has been significant. :love: We are so proud of him.

I am so glad you were able to attend the training to help with other autistic kids and hopefully in the future you never have to use the knowledge.

 

[Nanisu]

Re: Autism/AspergersMy son is a high functioning aspbergers' young man. I home schooled him the whole 12 years (1st-12th). He is in college now, and doing ok. He has a part time job at target, and I just wanted to post to encourage all you young moms that are possibly looking at this diagnosis, that there is light at the end of the tunnel.