The Mattapoisett Fire Department has dedicated the month of November toward “making a push” for autism awareness among its firefighters by providing emergency response training for the specific goal of providing the appropriate assistance to autistic individuals in the community during an emergency.
Mattapoisett Fire Capain Justin Dubois said the department is aware that there is an important population of autistic individuals in the Mattapoisett community, which is why ensuring that firefighters are trained to recognize autism and make swift judgment calls in order to make special accommodations during emergencies.
“With the amount of calls we receive, the chances of us encountering someone with autism is pretty significant, which make sit important for us to be trained in how to react in these situations,” said Dubois.
Some critical knowledge includes understanding what autism is and how to recognize people with autism because, Dubois said, “We may respond to a motor vehicle crash and we may not be aware that someone with autism may be in the vehicle.”
The special training session held earlier this month was sponsored by the Autism and Law Enforcement Coalition (ALEC) and led by Seekonk Firefighter Anthony Pucino, a father of an autistic child.
Pucino’s instruction included a crash course on autism, advice in recognizing the signs that someone needing assistance might be autistic, and ways of supporting that person through appropriate responses to keep the person calm, comfortable, and safe.
“ A person with autism may not be showing signs of an injury right away,” said Dubois.
He stressed the value of providing firefighters with strategies to achieve effective communication with an autistic person during a variety of emergency situations and to minimize sensory overstimulation in some individuals sensitive to lights and sounds, particularly sirens.
“We’ve got to be able to recognize that and deescalate that so that we can help,” said Dubois.
Pucino used a variety of tools in his instruction, including video footage of some of the visible signs of autism and how that may appear in certain stressful situations. Pucino also tested the firefighters with photos and asked them to identify the individuals with autism – which, of course, is impossible to assume.
“That was the point,” said Dubois. “You don’t know. You can’t just look at a person and say that person’s autistic.”
Dubois said that was an effective strategy for getting the firefighters thinking about the critical nature of this particular training experience.
“You could tell that the guys were interested in learning about it,” said Dubois. “I definitely think it was a success on our side… and it’s definitely something that we’re going to keep up.”
Dubois said he hopes that this type of training will continue in neighboring towns, given all the vital information the Mattapoisett firefighters received that day.
“I definitely feel like I’m more prepared,” said Dubois, adding that he’s no expert on autism, but knowing that something so simple as turning off the flashing lights and silencing the loud sirens could avoid triggering an unpleasant situation for someone during a moment of desperate need.
In addition to the training, Mattapoisett Fire and Rescue has also changed its department patch to a “puzzle piece” Autism Awareness design with the phrase “committed to community autism awareness”. These patches and decals of the same design will be on sale to the public throughout the month of November, available through the Mattapoisett Firefighters Association with all proceeds donated to a local autism organization.
“We haven’t determined which one yet, but we’re trying to keep it local so that we know that it will help the people in our community,” said Dubois.
These decals have been placed on fire trucks, and even some of the firefighters have placed them on their helmets.
“And maybe somebody will see that sticker and… people will know that we support people with autism and autism awareness,” said Dubois. “But we also want people to know that we can be there to help that person.”
By Jean Perry