Firefighter teaches first responders ways to interact with people with autism
WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- April is Autism Acceptance Month.
We're introducing you to a Bucks County firefighter who's equipping first responders with knowledge to help them interact appropriately with people with autism.
Brian Focht is a lieutenant with the Horsham Fire Company. His son Daniel was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.
"Things that I learned throughout his childhood that were strategies that helped us work with him, I implemented on emergency scenes," Focht said.
Lieutenant Focht built a training program to teach firefighters, paramedics and police how to recognize autism, overcome the communication barrier and use strategies to calm someone down during an emergency.
He provided the training to first responders at the Warrington Fire Company Wednesday.
"They could see someone who doesn't want to talk to them or won't make eye contact. Or that could present with them...flapping their hands or flapping their feet or staying on their toes," Focht said. "That's called stemming, where they're trying to calm themselves internally, so the worst thing they could do is try to stop that behavior."
Lt. Focht also teaches how to use the tools in this sensory bag. He says he's given out 150 of the bags to first responders in Montgomery and Bucks counties."
"We have noise-reducing headphones because loud phones are very prevalent at emergency scenes," Focht said. "We have dark safety glasses if lights would be overwhelming."
Nick Pasqualone attended one of Lt. Focht's previous classes. He says he used the training a few weeks ago while responding to a 911 call about a boy with autism who was having a medical emergency.
"We got the sensory kit out and we were able to use that to help communicate with the individual to make his situation a little better," Pasqualone said.
Lt. Focht holds autism training 30 to 40 times a year, sometimes with his son, who's now an adult.
"It makes me proud and like prideful to be his son and see all the positive effects and like, outcomes that has come from it," Daniel Focht said.
A firefighter and father educating others to interact with a vulnerable population safely and successfully.
