ALEC Program Provides First Responders with Training on Autism

In partnership with Southbridge PD, Northeast Arc developed a training program to equip first responders with a better understanding on how to assist individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Base training for first responders often lacks focus on how to properly assist individuals with disabilities that are not immediately apparent, such as autism.

Hoping to make a proactive difference, Steven P. Rosenthal gravitated towards the initiative of the ALEC program.  As a result of winning Northeast Arc’s Arc Tank, the ALEC program received funding to debut its efforts in Massachusetts.  With the success of this innovative and positively disruptive program as an example, Rosenthal and the Northeast Arc team hope to bring this crucial training to the national level.

So often, first responders are placed in situations that call for critical judgement.  When dealing with individuals with disabilities, the approach must be altered for the safety of the individual in question.  The ALEC program hopes to assist first responders in a way that benefits these individuals in terms of safety and understanding.  Steven P. Rosenthal is proud of the initiative’s guiding force: compassion.