Check out highlights of our work at the intersection of Autism, Safety & the Police!
2008 On behalf of the Autism Society of Los Angeles, Caroline Wilson and I trained nearly 2500 LAPD officers from 2006-2008, including the SWAT team, 911 operators and jail police. We are pictured here with then-president Anthony Pacheco and the Los Angeles Police Commissioners.
2011 As president of the autism Society of Los Angeles, I was honored to present LAPD Chief Charlie Beck with an Autism Awareness Award created by Merritt Wilson.
2012 I was delighted to receive an unexpected commendation from Senator Darryl Steinberg, President of the California Senate for Leadership in the Autism Field!
2013 Temple Grandin took one look at BE SAFE Teaching Edition and said, “You have got to get the word out there about this! You need to use social media so everyone can find out about this! Temple was right, and I hope you will help us do just that.
2014 Gabriela Tessier of Univision has been a great friend to the autism community and to me. She was the first to have me on her morning show to spread the news about BE SAFE.
We’ve been bringing police and the autism community together to understand and learn from one another for more than a decade ! It was hard to pick just one excellent BE SAFE, Experience Autism® or Mission Possible highlight per year from the many productive and exciting events we’ve done in Los Angeles and across the country, here are some moments that stood out!
June 10-11 2015, Experience Autism® with the entire Burbank Police Department, Burbank, CA
Our Experience Autism® team trained more than 100 officers from Burbank Police Department through engaging, hands-on activities. Captain Michael Albanese said that this training is critical to improve outcomes during contact with the growing population of people with ASD. Officer Sean Toth, who has a daughter on the spectrum, asked fellow officers to take the training to heart and learn ways to respond effectively to this special population. These events were also part of a live study of effectiveness by a research team from Biola University (YES! The research showed that Experience Autism® is effective, improving officers’ knowledge about autism, and helping them feel more prepared to interact with and accommodate individuals on the spectrum. Learn more at www.ExperienceAutism.com
2014 Mission Possible. We designed the activities and content for this wonderful safety experience for police officers, deputies, and the autism community with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Autism Society of Los Angeles. First officers tried hands-on activities from Experience Autism® to understand different features of autism. Next, 100 local students arrived and each officer was paired with a student.
After getting to know one another, the pairs explored interactive Safety Stations to practice essential skills like asking for help and following instructions. Both officers and students loved these activities. Chief Charlie Beck told one of the Mission Possible audiences that the program is a valuable way to bring the two groups together to learn more about each other. “This is an excellent way to break down barriers,” Beck said.
We put this event on with the LAPD on four different occasions! Work with us to host your own Mission Possible! We offer this safety day for organizations across the country on a smaller scale that is very manageable. Learn more about Experience Autism® for officers and BE SAFE Interactive Screenings on the Services page at emilyiland.com and
2013 Temple Grandin took one look at BE SAFE Teaching Edition and said, “You have got to get the word out there about this! You need to use social media so everyone can find out about this! Temple was right, and I hope you will help us do just that.
June, 2010 POST video Autism Recognition and Response
It was a huge honor to work with officers from 20 different agencies across California and other subject matter experts (SMEs) to create a law enforcement training video called Autism Spectrum Disorders: Recognition and Response. The DVD was made available at no cost to every law enforcement agency in the state. The information was divided into episodes that were perfect for showing during roll call training.
2008 On behalf of the Autism Society of Los Angeles, Caroline Wilson and I trained nearly 2500 LAPD officers from 2006-2008, including the SWAT team, 911 operators and jail police. We are pictured here with then-president Anthony Pacheco and the Los Angeles Police Commissioners. That work continues to this day, through a partnership with the LAPD Mental Evaluation Unit. At this point, at least 6,000 officers or more have been trained with the curriculum that we created, including corrections officers, zoo police and 911 operators!
