Police awareness of autism and the impact on individuals who wander

By: Swan, Charlie.
Contributor(s): Perepa, Prithvi.
Series: Good Autism Practice 20 (2) October 2019: 70-76. 2019Disc region: text file PDF rda.Content type: text Media type: computer Carrier type: online resource Subject(s): AUTISM | WANDERING BEHAVIOUR | INTERVIEWS | POLICE | AWARENESS | UNITED KINGDOMOnline resources: Read this Article Summary: This small-scale study was conducted by Charlie Swan as part of his BA (Hons) degree in Special Education. He interviewed four police officers about their knowledge of autism and how they might respond to finding an autistic person who had wandered off from their home or their carer. Like other studies which focus on professional groups who cover the entire population and who are not focused on specific groups, the opportunities for training are often limited in terms of time and topic. As was found in this study, their understanding of autism and how they might adjust their practice was very limited and largely based on their own personal experiences. All showed empathy and a willingness to support the person in the best way but did not know how to do this. So, if they do not know the person has autism they may misinterpret their actions but knowing the person is autistic, may not necessarily be any more helpful unless they have knowledge of what is likely to help. There is a growing recognition of the need for autism knowledge within police forces and some forces have worked very hard to enhance this.
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This small-scale study was conducted by Charlie Swan as part of his BA (Hons) degree in Special Education. He interviewed four police officers about their knowledge of autism and how they might respond to finding an autistic person who had wandered off from their home or their carer. Like other studies which focus on professional groups who cover the entire population and who are not focused on specific groups, the opportunities for training are often limited in terms of time and topic. As was found in this study, their understanding of autism and how they might adjust their practice was very limited and largely based on their own personal experiences. All showed empathy and a willingness to support the person in the best way but did not know how to do this. So, if they do not know the person has autism they may misinterpret their actions but knowing the person is autistic, may not necessarily be any more helpful unless they have knowledge of what is likely to help. There is a growing recognition of the need for autism knowledge within police forces and some forces have worked very hard to enhance this.

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