The Summerville Police Department offers autism and mental health training

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) – Summerville Police invited Lowcountry officers and other first responders to participate in a week-long in-depth training focused on understanding and interacting with people with mental health issues and disabilities.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness hosts training sessions, including a session on autism hosted by the SC Department of Disability and Special Needs. Stephanie Turner, director of autism, says this training is not required or covered to the same extent at the academy.

“One of the biggest challenges is simply the lack of knowledge. So when I started my training and asked if anyone had ever heard of autism, not everyone raised their hand,” says Turner.

Turner says it’s important to be aware of these conditions because they affect a large portion of the population that law enforcement is deployed to protect and serve. According to Turner, one in 36 children is diagnosed with autism.

“So the purpose of this training is to give officers a different perspective on what autism is and what a behavior might be. So when they arrive on site, they may have thought of it that way, but after that training, they might think, well, maybe that’s autism. “Maybe they won’t talk to me, not because they’re non-compliant, but because they’re physically unable to, because they’re on the autism spectrum,” Turner says.

During the training, Summerville Police Officer Kasey Morris said her patrol calls came through her mind through a new lens.

“Just sitting in class, I started acting out scenarios where I thought, ‘Okay, if I knew this, maybe I could approach it a little differently.’ “A lot of times we think we’re going to do things in a way that’s going to be effective, but without knowing it, we just don’t know and maybe we think it’s effective, but actually it’s not,” says Morris.

She says most police training focuses on a quick and effective response, but effectiveness is most important. In the field, officers often have to make quick decisions, but Morris said this training helps them know what to scan for and how to interpret what they see.

“We have to balance it out. We need to take time to step back. Notice what we have, you know, safety is a priority not only for them, but also for us in our environment. So most of the time you have to take that extra step just to take five seconds. Take a deep breath. “Know that this is not just another call, we may need to take a little more time,” says Morris.

During training, Turner asked officers to classify individuals with repetitive actions or autistic behavior as either non-problematic, problematic or dangerous. Once they assessed the magnitude of the situation, she showed them steps to take and how to phrase questions for people who responded in a way that indicated they were on the spectrum. Turner suggests standing an arm’s length away, waiting five seconds for an answer to a question, and taking 30 seconds to build a rapport with the person.

Morris remembers a time when she responded to a call where a 19-year-old with autism had become violent toward others around him.

“I remember him being there one day and having a physical argument with the other residents. And when I got there, he wasn’t violent, but he just didn’t want to talk, so to me, being in a police presence, he responded almost non-verbally. And looking back, I remember he had a lot of DVDs. Listening to Stephanie, it felt like I could have said, ‘Hey, do you like DVDs, do you like movies?’ and it could have been more effective if I had hired him,” says Morris.

Turner says some of the people she works with have concerns about law enforcement when it comes to dealing with mental health and disabilities.

“All officers participating in today’s training and such trainings across the state will receive an autism pin, which we encourage them to wear on their uniform to show the community that our officers are here to help them “To understand what autism is and what they do.” They have the necessary training to be able to better help them in this escalated or crisis situation,” says Turner.

Although the training is not required, departments can request the week-long program to conduct on-site training at any time. Turner said some upstate agencies have mandated the on-site program for officers early in their careers.

“I want community caregivers to see this pin and just breathe a sigh of relief when our officers respond instead of having the fears they might have had before this training,” Turner said.

Morris said although the training isn’t required for every Summerville officer, Chief Doug Wright requested the event and encourages as many officers as possible to attend.

“The training helps a lot because it shows us signs and symptoms that we may not initially perceive as autism or mental illness. We are not doctors. And I think it’s helpful for people in the community who have or may have family members or friends with an intellectual disability. “I think it will be useful for them if we take this training so that we can get a different insight into how to approach certain people and situations,” says Morris.

To learn more about the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, click here.

For more information about the National Alliance on Mental Illness, click here.

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