By Natalie Betz
Community members gathered at the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area on Monday evening to learn how to reduce the aura surrounding public-safety vehicles by allowing children with autism to have hands-on tours from local law-enforcement officials.This was the first event of its kind, and it consisted of tours of the inside of a police car, a fire truck, and an ambulance. There was also a house-safety simulator that taught children how to properly escape their house in case of an emergency. They could also meet a police dog.
“It’s always important to inform the public about what we’re about,” said Caleb Keenan, an Iowa City paramedic. “Kids may be afraid of the sirens, so it’s important to show that we are actual people, and we’re not scary. We want to inform kids about what we do and why we do it.”
The controlled fire-truck tours allowed children to have an open setting, creates one-on-one experience between children and public-safety professionals allowing kids opportunities to ask questions, said firefighter Matt Farrey.
“This gives kids a chance to get more familiar with first responders and to become less scared if they are ever in need of help,” said Melissa Barron, an Iowa City community member. “In big classes, kids with autism don’t always get the best out of the experience learning about the public-safety vehicles, so it’s nice that they get the one-on-one learning experience here.”
Iowa City police Sgt. Derek Frank promoted Project Life Saver, an international program concerned with people who are known to wander because of Alzheimer’s and autism. Volunteer caregivers are given radio transmitters to help detect people who are lost. When people go missing, Frank said, they are often found within 30 minutes instead of being lost for hours or even days.
When someone disappears without being registered for the program, officers search with their headlights and flashlights, and the darkness makes it a long process to find missing people, Frank said. However, he said, with the advanced technology, it is easier and almost certain that the person will be found. Project Life Safer has been active for about a year, he noted.
It’s important to promote Iowa City’s Project Lifesaver program at events supportimg autism to spread awareness of different services that might be helpful for parents, instead of simply stating that the program exists without reaching out to the proper audience, he said.
