Why teachers, school resource officers, administrators, parents, and first responders all have a role in creating a safer school year for autistic students.
The beginning of a new school year is filled with familiar sights and sounds. Fresh backpacks. New shoes. School buses rolling through neighborhoods again. Teachers preparing classrooms. Parents taking first-day photographs. Hallways filling with students reconnecting with friends. For many children, going back to school is exciting. For some autistic students, however, it can mean something very different.
It can mean waking up at a different time after months of following another routine. It can mean riding a noisy bus filled with unfamiliar voices. It can mean walking into a building where hundreds of people are moving in different directions. It can mean fluorescent lights, ringing bells, crowded hallways, unexpected announcements, unfamiliar teachers, new classroom expectations, different smells from the cafeteria, changing schedules, fire drills, assemblies, substitute teachers, and countless social interactions that must be interpreted throughout the day. What looks like an ordinary morning to most of us may feel overwhelming to someone experiencing the world differently. And sometimes, that difference can become a public safety issue.
That is why autism awareness at the beginning of the school year isn't simply an educational issue. It is a community issue. It is a family issue. And it is a public safety issue.
Try Seeing the School Day Through Their Eyes
Imagine walking into a building where the lights seem too bright. Every conversation around you competes for your attention. Shoes squeak against the floor. Lockers slam. Someone brushes against you in the hallway. The bell suddenly rings. You are expected to move immediately to another room. Then another. And another.
Someone gives you instructions you don't completely understand. You are asked a question, but you need additional time to process what was said. Before you can respond, the question is asked again. Someone assumes you are ignoring them. Your anxiety increases. You begin rocking, pacing, repeating words, covering your ears, or trying to get away from everything happening around you.
To someone unfamiliar with autism, those behaviors might look unusual. To an autistic student, they may be attempts to cope. That distinction matters, especially when the person interpreting those behaviors has authority.
Behavior Is Communication
One of the most important lessons we can teach anyone who interacts with autistic people is remarkably simple: Behavior is communication.
When an autistic student covers their ears, they may be communicating: This is too loud. When they retreat from others: I need space. When they repeatedly ask the same question: I'm anxious and need reassurance. When they begin pacing or stimming: I'm trying to regulate myself. When they stop responding verbally: I'm overwhelmed and having difficulty processing language. And when they attempt to leave: I need to get away from whatever is happening here.
The behavior we see is sometimes only the visible part of what that individual is experiencing internally. Before asking, “How do we stop this behavior?” we should consider asking, “What might this person be trying to communicate?” That small change in perspective can completely change an encounter.
When a School Situation Becomes a Public Safety Situation
Most challenging situations involving autistic students will be handled successfully by parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, administrators, and other school professionals. But sometimes additional help is needed.
A student leaves the classroom, then the building, then school property. A student experiencing sensory overload enters a meltdown and someone calls for assistance. An autistic student is involved in an altercation but has difficulty explaining what happened. A student does not respond to a school resource officer's questions. Someone interprets repetitive movements, avoidance of eye contact, unusual speech, or failure to immediately follow directions as suspicious or defiant behavior. A frightened student runs when approached by an officer.
Suddenly, what began as an autism-related situation becomes a public safety encounter. What happens next may depend heavily on whether the responding professional recognizes what they are seeing.
The Difference Between “Won't” and “Can't”
There is an enormous difference between someone who won't comply and someone who can't immediately comply.
An autistic person experiencing sensory overload may have difficulty processing verbal instructions. Someone who normally speaks fluently may temporarily become unable to communicate effectively. A student may understand an officer's command but require additional processing time before responding. Another may interpret language literally. Someone may avoid eye contact while still listening carefully. A student may engage in repetitive movement because it helps regulate anxiety.
None of these behaviors automatically indicate disrespect, defiance, intoxication, aggression, or criminal intent, but without autism awareness, they can easily be interpreted that way. And when behavior is misunderstood, encounters can escalate unnecessarily. Understanding creates options.
Wandering and Elopement Require Preparation
One of the most serious concerns involving some autistic children is wandering or elopement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about half of children and youth with autism have been reported by parents to wander. Schools and classrooms are among the locations from which wandering can occur. That means preparation cannot begin after a student disappears. Schools and families should consider developing individualized safety information before an emergency occurs.
Depending upon the needs of the individual student, useful information might include a current photograph, communication abilities, emergency contact information, sensory considerations, preferred calming strategies, known triggers, favorite places, strong interests, attractions to water or transportation, previous wandering history, and locations the student may attempt to reach. The worst time to learn everything about a missing autistic child is after the 911 call has already been made.
School resource officers and local first responders can also become valuable partners in that preparation.
School Resource Officers Can Make an Extraordinary Difference
School resource officers occupy a unique position. They are not simply officers assigned to a building. At their best, they become part of the school community. That provides an opportunity many patrol officers simply do not have: the opportunity to build relationships before an emergency occurs.
An SRO who knows that a particular student communicates differently, dislikes physical contact, needs additional processing time, or becomes overwhelmed by loud environments begins an encounter with information that can dramatically influence the outcome.
Sometimes the most effective public safety intervention happens months before the emergency. It happens when an officer sits down at lunch, visits a classroom, introduces themselves to a student, learns a student's interests, talks with teachers, listens to parents, and builds trust. The first interaction between an autistic student and a police officer should not have to occur during that student's worst moment.
Teachers and School Staff Are Part of the Safety Equation
Teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, coaches, school nurses, and other staff members may notice changes long before anyone else. They may recognize that a student is becoming overwhelmed, know that pacing usually means anxiety is increasing, understand that a particular student needs fewer words rather than more instructions, know that touching the student could make the situation worse, or know exactly what helps that student regulate.
When first responders arrive, that knowledge is invaluable. Public safety professionals should listen to the people who know the individual. One of the simplest questions an officer can ask may also be one of the most useful: “What usually helps?”
Parents and Caregivers Are Essential Partners
Parents and caregivers possess information that may never appear in a school record or dispatch call. They know the small details: the favorite television character, the fascination with trains, the park the child always wants to visit, the phrase that helps when anxiety rises, the sound the child cannot tolerate, the way the child responds when frightened, and the difference between ordinary stimming and behavior signaling distress. These details may seem insignificant, until an emergency occurs. Then they can become critical pieces of information.
Families should consider sharing appropriate safety information with schools and, when available in their community, participating in voluntary programs designed to provide first responders with information about individuals who may communicate or respond differently during emergencies. Preparation builds familiarity. Familiarity builds confidence. And confidence can reduce escalation.
First Responders: Slow the Encounter Down
Not every situation allows unlimited time, and there will always be circumstances requiring immediate intervention to protect someone from harm. But when circumstances permit, slowing an encounter can be one of the most effective tools available to a responder.
Reduce unnecessary noise. Limit the number of people giving instructions. Use clear, concrete language. Allow additional processing time. Avoid unnecessarily repeating commands louder and faster. Be cautious about physical contact. Recognize signs of sensory overload. Ask caregivers or school personnel what works. Consider whether the person's behavior might be related to autism before interpreting it as deliberate resistance.
Sometimes effective de-escalation isn't about doing more. It is about removing what is making the situation harder.
SCOUT'S LESSON: Behavior Is Communication
When you see behavior you don't understand, become curious before becoming judgmental. Instead of immediately asking: “What's wrong with this person?” try asking: “What might be happening to this person?” Instead of: “Why won't they listen?” consider: “Are they able to process what I'm saying right now?” Instead of: “Why are they acting like that?” ask: “What are they trying to communicate?”
Understanding does not mean ignoring dangerous behavior. It means responding to behavior with better information. And better information leads to better decisions.
A Safer School Year Begins Before the Emergency
As school buses return to our streets and classrooms fill again, there will understandably be conversations about school safety: doors, emergency plans, security, training, and communication systems. All of those things matter. But there is another form of school safety that deserves our attention: understanding the students inside those buildings.
That means teachers understanding autism, parents communicating with schools, schools developing individualized safety plans, school resource officers building relationships, dispatchers gathering useful information, police officers recognizing autism-related characteristics, firefighters and EMS professionals understanding sensory and communication differences, and communities preparing before emergencies occur.
The goal shouldn't simply be knowing what to do when something goes wrong. It should be creating environments where fewer things go wrong in the first place. A safer school year doesn't begin when someone calls 911. It begins long before the emergency: with understanding. And sometimes, that understanding may make all the difference.
Understanding Saves Lives.
- SCOUT
Public Safety Ambassador
Spectrum Command Public Safety