November 18, 2024
Dear Ms. Oak:
Thank you for your article titled “UM-Flint’s Officer Friendly Day promotes positive interactions between autistic people and law enforcement.” We were delighted to read that the University of Michigan-Flint provided a platform for individuals with autism and their families to connect with law enforcement! Although the event has passed, your article raised awareness of an important initiative that can serve as a model for other communities.
This event, held at the University of Michigan-Flint, was pitched as “Officer Friendly Day.” “Officer Friendly Day” aims to sharpen law enforcement skills by educating law enforcement on interacting and connecting with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their community. This event emphasizes public safety calls rather than illegal activity, as that is typically when law enforcement is more likely to contact autistic individuals in the community. Oak discusses in this piece that these annual events better prepare officers and keep them safe during crisis events in the future.
The “Officer Friendly Day” event has been so successful that it has become an annual event for the University of Michigan-Flint to host for the last three years and counting. Every year, additional activities are added; this year, the “calming tent” was added where individuals can enter and calm down if they feel overstimulated by the outside environment. For next year’s event, the event planning team will create an activity where officers can practice de-escalating dangerous situations involving individuals diagnosed with autism.
Here at ASAT, we support this effort and offer a plethora of resources for parents, educators, and healthcare professionals when these specific individuals seek knowledge about their loved one diagnosed with autism. One such article, First Responder Education in Autism, emphasizes that while first responders are trained and prepared for various crisis emergencies, this does not always transfer to responding to crisis emergencies with individuals diagnosed with ASD. Therefore, it is vital that first responders to informed and prepared to support individuals diagnosed with ASD. We invite your readers to read this article and others on ASAT’s website. Thank you again for raising awareness about this important community initiative.
Sincerely,
Seirra Mitchell, BS, RBT and David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
