I
want to spread the word to the autism community about many things that
pertain to this population. Not only that, I wish to reach out to this
community and see if anyone is interested in my fields of interest.
I want to strongly encourage able-bodied men and women with autism to
consider becoming involved in search and rescue, disaster response,
enlistment in their state defense force (if their state has one), etc.
The reasons for this are numerous. A main one would
be that many searches are for autistic children- a team member with
autism would know what to do and what not to do. This would also pertain
to dealing with autistics in the aftermath of a disaster, in particular
should an autistic child become separated from
their family during a tornado, flood, civil unrest, etc. Autistic team
members would be invaluable for this.
I am not going to
sugarcoat this and say that it is easy work. It is not. There are times
of great stress that must be taken into consideration, and I understand
that many may have difficulties in dealing with such.
However, I believe that we can easily assert ourselves and make known
what we can and cannot easily do. For example, maybe being out in the
field would be a better choice for an autistic team member than sitting
at a desk in a hectic staging area. I believe
that we all have something that can be brought to the table. That being
said, again, this is not easy work and I do not want anyone to feel
pressured into something that is going to be more than they can handle.
As a Criminal Justice
major, I also wish to bring attention to the fact that at least in the
state of Ohio, peace officers are required to take courses on how to
recognize autism. I personally think it would be
wonderful if we could have actual autistic people come in and teach
those courses. Again, actual autistic people would know what to do and
what not to do. There have been instances in which autistic individuals
have gotten in trouble with the law, simply because
the officers were not trained to recognize autism. I personally think
that it could be amazing if we eventually could have autistics who could
do ride-alongs with law enforcement in the case that they would come
upon an autistic individual. Frankly, I'm all
for having them as sworn officers eventually (it has been said that
being a park ranger could make sense for someone with autism) but again,
that would not be for everyone.
If this is indeed something that someone would want to get involved with, please check out these organizations to start with:
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www.ohiospecialresponseteam.org
A
broad based response unit able to respond to a variety of emergencies
and disasters in support of civil authories for Ohio search and rescue.
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www.ohiosar.com
Search
and Rescue Ohio based in Central Ohio. An Ohio Search and Rescue Team.
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www.gocivilairpatrol.com
CAP
is the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force and a 501 (c)3
non-profit organization. CAP supports America’s communities with
emergency/disaster ...
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oko.ohmr.ohio.gov
The
official State Defense Force for the State of Ohio. No combat. No foreign deployment. Ages 17 - 60.
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