E-Book Overview
Most emergency workers, retailers and retail security know very little about autism. This book explains what to look for and how to successfully handle encounters with people who have autism. It takes emergency responders, retailers and parents through everyday situations, stressing safety and awareness. The authors explain the steps everyone can take to avoid difficult and dangerous situations with people with autism, and more general guidelines. Full of helpful ideas and key point reminders, the book is also an excellent training tool.
E-Book Content
Dangerous Encounters – Avoiding Perilous Situations with Autism
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Dangerous Encounters – Avoiding Perilous Situations with Autism A Streetwise Guide for all Emergency Responders, Retailers, and Parents
Bill Davis and Wendy Goldband Schunick
Jessica Kingsley Publishers London and Philadelphia
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1P 9HE. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. The right of Bill Davis and Wendy Goldband Schunick to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in the United Kingdom in 2002 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd 116 Pentonville Road London N1 9JB, England and 325 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.jkp.com Copyright © Bill Davis and Wendy Goldband Schunick 2002 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 1 84310 732 5 Printed and Bound in Great Britain by Athenaeum Press, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
Contents Chapter 1
What is Autism?
11
Chapter 2
Why Training is Needed
17
Chapter 3
Characteristics of Autism
23
Chapter 4
Why Law Enforcement might be Called
39
Chapter 5
How to Communicate
47
Chapter 6
Challenging Circumstances for Emergency Responders
63
Chapter 7
Particular Challenges for Ambulance and Emergency Room Workers
75
Chapter 8
Fire Rescue
83
Chapter 9
Shoplifting and Store Disturbances: A Special Problem for Retailers and Law Enforcement Officers
89
Chapter 10 How Emergency Responders and Parents can Work Together
95
Chapter 11 Preventing Pr