BY DWIGHT GOOD
Last fall, my wife, a resource teacher, began working toward her autism credential. Night after night, she shared fascinating information with me about autism on her long drive home from school. It was like being in class but without the homework. As the days wore on, I began to realize that everything I knew about autism I had learned in about a month. Working at a busy fire station, I began to notice things about certain people and certain houses. These things had previously escaped my attention, or I had chalked them up to human oddity. Now, suddenly, they had meaning and significance. I began to modify the way I approached certain people and how I handled certain calls. I applied new information to familiar situations and saw some definite benefits. I also was developing the idea that our field personnel might benefit from some training on the subject. Here’s what I learned along the way.
This disorder affects one in nine families in California. It has an annual growth rate of more than 12 percent. The population of adults with ASD will triple in the next decade.1-2 The shift away from institutionalization means that many people with ASD will transition into independent living after their 18th birthday.3 We are about to see the largest adult population of people with ASD in history, and the emergency services sector is generally unprepared for the special needs and challenges that this group will present.
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