Gilbert family’s nonprofit trains first responders on serving people with disabilities
GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — New training to help police better handle emergencies involving people with autism, neurodivergences or other disabilities. It’s a personal mission for a Valley officer with a son on the spectrum. His family is encouraging state lawmakers to pass a bill to make these interactions easier for everyone.
A Gilbert family has already set out on that mission, creating a nonprofit with the goal of giving hands-on training to first responders on how to serve someone with disabilities. They believe people with autism sometimes struggle to get help in crisis situations, and they want to change that. Autumn and Chris Timmins’ oldest son Preston is on the autism spectrum. But they didn’t want that to define him.
“It’s something that we’re really passionate about,” Chris said.
“I want to make sure that my son and every other individual that’s neurodivergent or has a developmental disability is going to be successful and safe in their community,” he said. “And then I also want my brothers and sisters in uniform, police and fire, to be able to provide the best service they can and to feel comfortable when they go to these calls.”
With that passion, they created a nonprofit called Preston’s Pursuit for Acceptance. Chris has been a police officer for more than 25 years in the East Valley. He and Autumn are using their knowledge to train first responders to better respond to calls involving someone on the spectrum.
“We’re training what is not impairment,” Autumn said. “We have them learn how to navigate a conversation with somebody that has to use a tablet or a picture book to kind of explain what’s going on.”
Gilbert Police is one of the agencies that gets training from the nonprofit.
“The training that we receive allows us to have that information so that we can again communicate with them effectively,” Sergeant Lorenzo Teruya with the Gilbert Police Department said.
The Timmins have taken this passion even further to the state Capitol. They’re advocating House Bill 2330. It passed the House unanimously and now sits in the Senate. The bill would allow drivers to put a note on their registration indicating they may have communication challenges, including those experiencing autism.
“It will let us know that somebody in that car, and it doesn’t even have to be the driver, just somebody that’s in that car has a need for a communication accommodation,” Chris said. “This accommodation would be so huge.”
Chris and Autumn aim to work with departments nationwide. So far, they’ve trained local departments like Gilbert and Casa Grande police departments and conducted training in Payson with multiple agencies.
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