Brattleboro Reformer B
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Arriving at the scene of an accident to find injured victims is tough enough, but what if one of the injured is a child who has autism?
It’s a question paramedics, and emergency responders, will try to answer in the coming months with help from the Inspire School for Autism, starting today at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
Children who have autism may not understand the usual, universally accepted means of communication, co-academic director for Inspire School, Carol Ortlip said.
It’s essential that community members, especially emergency medical providers such as firemen, police, paramedics, doctors and nurses, learn how to cope with children who are in this heightened emotional state, she said.
“Already in states of anxiety, children with autism find it difficult to comprehend the social cues and signals most of us take for granted,” Ortlip said. “Put them into a traumatic situation and their anxiety can shoot through the roof.”
Layne Leary, an assistant educator at the Inspire School and a volunteer with Windham County Safe Kids Program, Brian Richardson, assistant chief of operations and training coordinator at Rescue Inc., will coordinate the various trainings for all local emergency medical providers, Ortlip said.
Other trainings for law enforcement personnel, emergency professionals and transportation providers will be scheduled soon.
Copyright 2011 MediaNews Group, Inc. and New England Newspaper Group Inc.
All Rights Reserved