Montreal police launch initiative to tailor 911 responses for autistic people

The SPVM and Giant Steps School have launched a pilot project that aims to improve interactions between officers and autistic individuals during interventions.

Under the project, families can voluntarily share key details about an autistic loved one — information that can be accessed by dispatchers and passed along to responding officers when needed.

Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher says the goal is to help officers adjust their approach from the very start of an intervention, especially in high-stress situations when communication can break down quickly.

“Honestly, it’s a huge gain for the police and for the population we service,” Dagher said.

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“This is about adapting, knowing and having a human approach, much more efficient to that population.”

Through the program, participating families can provide practical information, such as a person’s communication preferences, sensory sensitivities and common reactions to stress.

The idea is that when officers are responding to a call, they can tailor how they speak, approach and de-escalate.

The director of Giant Steps, a school that provides primary and secondary education to more than 180 autistic children and adults, said families who want to participate can do so for free by completing a form.

“The impact of a police intervention can create a lot of consequences — bad and good,” Alain Beaudoin said.

“We have to create a link together,” he said. “We are two unknown people who just linked together, so we believe if we do it better at the beginning, it can help the autistic person and the family, too.”

For now, the pilot project is being rolled out with families connected to Giant Steps, but both organizations say the lessons learnt will help them understand next steps and potentially expand the project.

For the full story, watch the video above.