The Port Huron Police Department is hosting an Autism Acceptance Day later this month to foster positive relationships between local first responders and individuals with autism or developmental disorders.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 23 at Pine Grove Park in Port Huron. The Port Huron Fire Department, Tri-Hospital EMS, Blue Water YMCA, St. Clair County Community Mental Health and more will be there to interact with residents and hand out information.
Attendees will have the chance to meet first responders and check out the inside of police, fire and EMS vehicles. There will also be sensory activities, a bubble station, a craft table and communications boards for nonverbal individuals, said Jessica Proctor, a parent of an autistic child and records and identification clerk with the police department.
Sam Baker, a community service officer with the police department, said this year's event will be bigger than last year, with more businesses and organizations participating.
"It's basically breaking down barriers, building those relationships like we always try to do, but (it's) also information exchange, resource exchange," Baker said. "And also have a fun day for the kids and the individuals that may be special needs."
Baker and Proctor said the more people see first responders and their equipment — such as uniforms, emergency vehicles and emergency lights — in a safe, welcoming environment, the more comfortable they become with them. Then it creates a safer situation when they encounter first responders in an emergency situation.
"We're gonna have patrol cars there, we're gonna have some support vehicles there to let them see (something) that may come across as scary or intimidating," Baker said. "God forbid they ever have to sit in an ambulance or a car accident, they've already seen those vehicles, experienced that and the hopes is it wouldn't be as much of a shock or trigger if God forbid something does happen down the road."
Proctor said her son, Brady, used to be scared of police officers because he thought he was in danger or in trouble. The more he came to the station, the more comfortable he became, getting to the point where he is comfortable being in the station and interacting with officers.
Proctor said it makes her proud to know that law enforcement and the general public are moving towards awareness and acceptance of the autism community. She is proud that the entire department regularly receives training on the topic so officers know autistic individuals are not being defiant or uncooperative if they don't respond to an officer's commands.
“It makes me feel proud to work for the Port Huron Police Department because they are taking action and they are on the forefront of bringing awareness to law enforcement to help and to understand that not everyone who reacts a certain way is doing it to fight back," she said.
Tri-Hospital EMS Operations Manager Trish May said the agency is looking forward to interacting with the public and learning more about how to better serve residents. Attendees will be able to climb in a Tri-Hospital EMS ambulance, touch their equipment and a stretcher.
"Any time that we can find resources that help put more tools in our toolbox to better equip us with how to deal with these situations the better," May said.
The police department will also be handing out developmental disability forms to parents and guardians. The forms have information such as the individual's age, description, triggers, and best form of communication, Baker and Proctor said.
The forms are then stored with the police department and St. Clair County Central Dispatch so if officers respond to an address with an individual with a disability, they can pull up the information to better help them respond to the call, Baker said.
He said while other departments would receive a premise alert from dispatch that a person with a developmental disability lives at the address, the information from the form is accessible only by the Port Huron Police Department.
The department will also be handing out stickers that tell those entering a home that a person with a disability or autism lives there.
To request a developmental disability form or sticker, or to update an existing form, call the Port Huron Police administration line at (810) 984-9710.
The forms were introduced last year.
Baker said he and other officers have responded to homes with the forms and/or stickers. Having that information makes officers more aware of how an individual might react and might change how they respond to an emergency situation. All department officers and employers received refresher training on the topic this month.
"It allows the officer to slow down . . . We still have a job to do and we still do the job but it just allows (officers) to put that voice in their head that somebody may be nonverbal, somebody may not respond at all or respond completely differently than you're asking them to," Baker said.
For questions, or to request partnership with the Port Huron Police Department for Autism Acceptance Day, contact Baker at (810) 984-9715 or bakers@porthuron.org.
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com.