Durand Receives Flutie Grant for Local First Responders

In a crisis situation, first responders such as police, firefighters or emergency medical technicians may often lack the skills to recognize and deal with an autistic individual. With this in mind, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation awarded Durand Academy & Community Services a $10,000, one-year grant to reach out to first responders. The grant will be used to educate police, firefighters and EMTs in the Burlington and Camden counties on various aspects of autism.

The training will be conducted by Sean McCormick, who has taken EMT training, and Michelle Bourbon, a former special agent with the Justice Department, both of whom are parents of autistic children and participants in PACT, Parents of Autistic Children Together, the local Autism of Society of America chapter.

“Arriving on a scene, a first responder must quickly evaluate an emergency situation. Often autistic individuals will be non-compliant,” explained Michelle Bourbon. “This is particularly difficult for police who might mistake non-compliance for meaning something else. We need to train police, firefighters and EMTs to look for other behaviors to cue them to an autistic condition.”

Often people with autism have audio or visual processing problems and don’t know how to react to first responders. In some cases, they may actual run away out of a fear of strangers.

“Many autistic individuals suffer from sensory overload from flashing lights, sirens or strangers,” added Sean McCormick. “The key in many cases is to keep things simple and refocus them.” McCormick has found that close-ended questions with yes-or-no answers work well.

Both Bourbon and McCormick, as well as other members of the Durand team are very excited about this initiative. “This is a terrific program that addresses a critical issue at a time when the number of children being diagnosed with various levels of autism has increased dramatically,” reports McCormick.

The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation's mission is to aid financially disadvantaged families who need assistance in caring for their children with autism; to fund education and research into the causes and consequences of childhood autism; and to serve as a clearinghouse and communications center for new programs and services developed for individuals with autism.

To learn more about the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, go to www.dougflutiejrfoundation.org

Update: The Board of Advisors