Atlanta: Autism moms train first responders to deal with ASD

May 7, 2024, Fox5, Atlanta: Moms help first responders understand kids with autism

Emily Chambers and Abby Kimbell, two Coweta County moms, are helping first responders understand how to interact with children who have been diagnosed with autism.

News video:

Anchor: Mothers say it’s their mission to teach first responders what to expect in their  encounters with children who have autism. 

Two moms with autistic children are interviewed.

First mom: My daughter is three. Her name is Evelyn. The main thing for her is speaking and language. She has difficultly getting her thoughts out into words.

Second mom: My son is Crew. He’s three and a half; looks like a five year old. His autism presents more in a physical way, more behavioral way.

Reporter: Emily and her husband Charles who started the Inclusion Project Foundation to train first responders in the needs of children with autism. . . .

Second mom: When it comes to law enforcement and autism, autism can present as very physical and sometimes violent, and if there’s something that we can do to get just the word autism in the back of an officer’s mind, just in those first 30 seconds, a lot can be prevented.

Reporter: The Inclusion Project Foundation gives free sensory kits to departments to help calm the child then he can be carried in say patrol cars and EMS units.

The kits includes things like headphones and sunglasses and what are called fidget toys.

Second mom: When an officer sees a kid having a breakdown or is very dysregulated, they can help them out by having tools on hand and the knowledge on hand to help them. 

First mom: Evelyn, Crew, they’re three, they’re adorable. If something happened to them, I’m sure an officer would take great care of them.

But we have about 15 years to make the  community a safer place for them when they’re an adult.