Aspies For Freedom

“An educational tool for Fire Department personnel and other “First Responders"
http://woodsidefire.org/WWANE.html

"Communicating with individuals who have impaired communication skills due to various physical, psycho-social, developmental, and or learning disabilities can be extremely challenging to first responders at an emergency scene.  In fact, lack of communication ability between  emergency personnel and  their  patients  can  waste valuable  time in initial medical assessments, risk further injury to the patient, require  additional  personnel  to help  with individual, and sometimes  compromise  necessary treatment and or transport

THIS PROGRAM WAS CREATED AND FUNDED BY WOODSIDE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT UNDER A FEMA GRANT

Communicating with individuals who have various physical, psycho-social, developmental, and learning disabilities that may be adversely affecting communication.

Program Design: This program is designed as an educational tool for fire department “first responders”, children in special education classes and other individuals who may have difficulty communicating during emergencies because of a disability.

Program Components:  Video  -  Manual  -  Symbol/Sign Booklet   -  Poster"

When Words are Not Enough booklet:
http://woodsidefire.org/pdfs/Final%20Booklet.pdf

This is important that people are being educated.  It could be a situation where someone would think that someone on the scene is "just drunk or crazy" and they ignore them.   One man actually died during a concert because people around him just thought he was drunk or on drugs and didn't try to help him.  A man was arrested because he was wearing a burn mask and could not talk -- he tried to hand the bank teller a note to withdrawn money to feed his family (none of whom spoke English well enough to go to the bank).