Registration open for free “Autism and Law Enforcement” training for first responders

On Thursday June 6, from 6:00 to 8:00pm, Autism Society of the Keys and U.M. CARD will co-host “Autism and Law Enforcement,” a free training led by certified law enforcement instructor Bart Barta who will teach first responders how to recognize and respond to someone with autism. First responders, families, teachers, and therapists are welcome to the training at St. Mary’s Basilica School Library, 700 Truman Avenue in Key West.

Barta has trained more than 6,000 officers how to successfully interact with people who have autism; the workshop will touch upon the behavior and communication challenges and sensory issues that affect people with autism to support calm exchanges and prevent unnecessary escalation. The father of a teenager with autism and his three-decades-plus of experience in law enforcement give him both an engaging personal and professional insight he shares with workshop participants.

He is also the founder of “Autism Safety 101,” an organization that offers trainings and resources with the mission of making the lives of people affected by autism safer and to provide public safety personnel with a greater understanding and awareness of the unique challenges and needs of people affected by autism.

“Our vision is to become the number one source and provider of safety training for people living with autism spectrum disorder and to provide a greater understanding of autism for all first responders,” says the retired law enforcement commander from the Coral Gables Police Department.

Bart served as an instructor for the nationally recognized Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training Program for Florida’s Eleventh Circuit Court’s Mental Health Project in Miami-Dade County for more than a decade, was a SWAT and Crisis Management Team (Hostage Negotiations) commander, has more than 20 years of criminal investigative experience and served as a former commander of the Criminal Investigations Division for the Coral Gables Police Department. He also served as a member of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) Constituency Board.

To register and for more information, contact Jill Campbell at [email protected] , call 305-942-5172, or visit autismsafety101.org for more information.

IMAGE:

Certified law enforcement instructor and retired Coral Gables Police Deparment Commaner Bart Barta enjoys a moment with his son Daniel, a teenager with autism.  Barta will teach first responders how to recognize and respond to someone with autism in his June 6 training Autism and Law Enforcement” at St. Mary’s Basilica School Library, 700 Truman Avenue in Key West.

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