Peoria, IL: Police attend autism training; required by law
- The end of childhood
- Apr 27
- 1 min read
April 26, 2025, 25News, Peoria, IL: Peoria Police undergo training to help people on the autism spectrum
Peoria Police officers are attending workshops about how to interact with children and adults with autism.
They’re receiving training from retired Addison Police officer and owner of Blue Line Spectrum Safety Stefan Bjes, who is the father of two sons with autism.
He knows how important it is for officers to learn the difference between a perpetrator and someone with a disability.
Bjes also said an important tool is the Angel Sense device, which has GPS tracking, for families to use when someone has vanished.
He said it’s also important to understand communication in other ways besides speech because some people are mute.
“The population with autism has limited to no verbal ability,” said Bjes. “Just because they’re not verbal doesn’t mean they can’t communicate. We have to think about different strategies that we’re communicating. Whether that’s the use of visuals or different resources available, we should use them. I told our officers in training that it may be as simple as writing a message back and forth.” . . .
Bjes also said there’s one more training scheduled for Peoria officers, and five more scheduled in the fall for other groups.
This year, police officers and other first responders in Illinois are required to receive this training.
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