Newton Volunteer Fire Department to Host Autism Awareness Workshop

NEWTON, Ala. (WTVY) – This Saturday, Oct. 26, the Newton Volunteer Fire Department will host an autism awareness workshop.

Janet Ford will be the guest speaker at this event. She will discuss topics such as recognizing the signs of autism, the different needs of an autistic person, and how to plan ahead and help an autistic person in an emergency.

The workshop is open to the public. It will start at 10:00 a.m. and should last approximately 2 hours.

Kathy Snow, treasurer of the Newton VFD, said they attended the Alabama Volunteer Firefighters Association’s annual conference earlier this year and after hearing a presentation on autism awareness, she realized that they had never thought about how to approach an autistic person during an emergency. .

“Today, 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism,” Snow said. “It is very important for us to understand how to help these people when we face emergency situations. »

This workshop is very important to Snow, who hopes it will help first responders and community members get the right information and tools needed to help everyone involved in any emergency situation.

“As first responders, you never know when you’re going to find yourself in a situation where you’re going to have an autistic person,” Snow explained. “You need tools and information to know how to approach them…you want to make sure that you’re not scaring them and that you know how to communicate with them so you can help them.” »

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