Autism Liaison Officer

Course Description:

This specialized training program will help public safety officers and their agencies start or improve an Autism Liaison Officer Program. 

Topics covered will include:

• Recognizing signs and behavioral indicators of Autism

• Specialized communication and de-escalation techniques

• A review of legal issues, including issues related to educational institutes and group homes

• Making your school safety and security programs inclusive

• Community outreach programs including home & business safety visits and sensory friendly events

• Unique safety challenges faced by autistic children and effectively responding to a wandering/elopement emergency

• Crisis prevention programs

This is a 2 Day course that runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day

Cost is $360 - A free lunch will be provided at no additional cost on both days

Register and pay for 3 and get one additional free tuition! - this is a great option for agencies that want to have a liaison team or backup officers for these roles.

This course is geared towards police officers and command officers who wish to start or improve a program to help the autistic community. The class will be especially useful to police officers who wish to specialize in outreach to people on the spectrum and to their families. It will also be very useful for School Resource Officers, who are often called upon to assist children on the spectrum. 

This program is not limited to police personnel as it will also be useful for anyone in public safety (Police, Fire, EMS, Dispatch), public health, private security, healthcare, education, human services, volunteer services, or emergency management who wish to start or improve their outreach programs. True Community Policing involves working with the entire community and we are very happy to be joined by community members who care.

The instructors:

• Retired Police Lieutenant Glen Mills is a 2nd generation police command officer with over 32 years of police training and experience. He has advanced training and instructor training certifications in a number of mental health, crisis response, de-escalation and emergency management programs.

• Officer Stephen Papagno is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps with over 25 years of police experience. He is a graduate of the Lowell Police Academy (1999) and holds a Bachelor's degree in Administration of Criminal Justice from UMass Lowell. He has also been the Burlington High School boys' swim coach since 1992.