Be Safe The Movie

BE SAFE and Experience Autism get a tremendously positive reaction from participants, especially when we do both events together. Here’s a small sample of the feedback and comments from thousands of people across the country who we’ve met in the past five years!

We delivered four very successful safety trainings in three days in Omaha in June, 2018. Michaela Aherns, who coordinated the trainings wrote, “Emily Iland and Tom Iland are wonderful! They are incredibly knowledgeable and bring a realistic and authentic perspective to these critical issues. They were prepared for anything and made sure our training sequence was relevant to our local community.”Michaela Ahrens, Director of PACE and Program Services, Autism Action Partnership

An officer who attended a 2019 Experience Autism training followed by a BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Shrewsbury, MA said, “Thank you for the experience. Hands down one of the best ASD trainings I’ve attended.”

Another officer who attended the 2019 Experience Autism training followed by a BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Shrewsbury, MA said, “I learned that patience is important. Before I would have just repeated myself. This class was a real eye-opener.”

A service professional (staff) who attended the 2019  BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Shrewsbury, MA said, “Everything was awesome! I loved the whole experience, most of all the engagement between the police and our individuals [with exceptional needs].”

An officer from the Mansfield Texas Police Department attended a 2019 BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Crowley, Texas. She commented, “This training is unbelievably informative. It can and will help people and even save someone from a potentially bad situation.” She loved, “the ease of how information was taught and the interaction and activities used to involve the audience.”

A teacher who attended a 2019 BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Crowley, Texas commented, “Letting the students meet and interact with real police officers offers invaluable experience, so this made me happy. The demonstrations were also stand-out.”

A student who attended a 2019 BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Crowley, Texas commented, “I’m no longer scared.”

An officer who attended a 2019 Experience Autism training followed by a BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Cincinnati, Ohio shared, “My partners, Michael and Nate were super awesome and helped me understand their special communication needs. The also helped me see more clearly the broad range of gifts/challenges each experienced with ASD.”

Another officer who attended the 2019 Experience Autism training followed by a  BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Cincinnati, Ohio concluded: “Simply thank you. I left here a better person and officer today.” His colleague commented, “I thought it was fantastic.”

Erica Boarman, OTR/L attended a BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening in Cincinnati, Ohio, and commented, “The officer prep [Experience Autism®] followed by connections to people with special needs was powerful. The success connection and activities that reinforced training content was fantastic! Thank you, Emily! Your work is a gift.

Diana Blackmon, Ed.D., Educational Consultant
Primary author, Transition to Adult Living: An Information and Resource Guide (2008).
The Be Safe instructional video fills a critical gap in personal safety training for persons with disabilities: How to conduct yourself with the police. The material is presented in an accessible, easy to understand format that utilizes the evidence-based instructional method of video modeling to teach young people how to Be Safe when interacting with the police. The video addresses every parent’s fear about how their son or daughter with a disability will respond when confronted by the police and provides a tool to begin the discussion by offering visual and verbal examples of how to behave in situations involving law enforcement. This is a “must see” video for all young people with disabilities and should be an essential part of the curriculum in every program that teaches independent living, community access and personal safety skills. The video can be viewed in its entirety or shown in segments as an introduction to lessons on safety laws, self-advocacy and what to do if you are stopped or arrested by the police. Kudos to Emily Iland for providing the disability community a much-needed resource!

Stephen Shore, Ed.D.
Professor, Author, Self-Advocate, and Leader in the Autism Community.
“An excellent tool for bringing safety education into the classroom and beyond. Ideal for school, home and community programs for learners with ASD and similar conditions.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tom Lackey of the Palmdale City Council
“I was excited to see with my own eyes a program that has been in demand for a long time. Having been a Special Education teacher, a 28 year CHP veteran and a person with a Special Needs member in my family, I understand many of the challenges our special needs kids face. Thank you for allowing me to be part of such a great event. Sincerely, Tom”
September 10, 2014

Diana Abramowski, A Social Place, Inc. (ASP), Idaho
I am VERY INTERESTED in getting BE SAFE The Movie not only shown here, but to get it into the school districts, providers, local hospital, etc. Not to mention the Dept. of Health & Welfare, and other agencies and organizations in place up here to assist those with Developmental Disabilities, and other Special Needs.

The issue of Law Enforcement and individuals with ASD is a huge one. No matter the age, we find that they are “fearful” of police. Your statement about persons with ASD needing to understand about law enforcement is very true.

Thank you for your heart, obvious hard work and time, to help the world understand those who can’t speak for themselves. Giving this kind of support and information is invaluable for those with developmental disabilities and other disabilities.
July 13, 2014

Valerie Saraf
YOU ARE A VERY BUSY AND CREATIVE WOMAN!!!! We are lucky to have you in our community!
July 11, 2014

Erin Lash (WV Autism Training Center at Marshall University)
Good morning Emily,
My name is Erin Lash. I am regional program coordinator for the WV Autism Training Center at Marshall University. I recently ordered Be Safe the Movie and wanted to thank you for an invaluable resource… I also wanted to thank you for the “Drawing a Blank.” Your work has helped so many individuals that I work with.
July 9, 2014

Deb Davis
I’m an educational advocate in Maine -Thanks for creating such a powerful tool for helping kids!
July 2 2014

Joanne Broutt (Speech pathologist and social skills instructor)
Thanks Emily for all you do for people with Autism – your program [BE SAFE] is amazing! All young people on the spectrum should go through it. I endorse it whole heartedly!
July 1, 2014

Catherine Reyes Leary
Catherine attended the BE SAFE Interactive Screening at the Valencia Library and she said, “I liked the following things about the presentation: The points made were reinforced over and over again during each segment of the movie, everyone spoke clearly and at an easy pace to follow, there was the opportunity for the students to interact in hands on activities, the meeting began on time, the presence of law enforcement was a great way to help the students see that they do not need to fear peace officers but they can safely interact with them, the students were very attentive and respectful of the event, there was a lot of very useful information shared that I had never heard of (SCV Special Needs Registry, Calbar pamphlets online, and other very useful tidbits of information.) Thank you for providing this kind of event and information to families.”
April 2014

Lisette Medina
Super orgullosa de sus logros! Bravo Emily
Very proud of your accomplishments! Bravo, Emily
April 2014

Kathy Kay
As an Executive Director at West-Central Independent Living Solutions, I have found the curriculum for “Be Safe the Movie” to be invaluable. It has created a bond between our center and the Police Departments for all the counties we serve, as well as helped our youth populations. With the movie, we are able to present youth with disabilities the tools to stay safe and keep interactions with the police non-confrontational and positive. Great job Emily Iland on creating this wonderful resource. I highly recommend it to schools, Centers for Independent Living, parents and anyone else who wants to create a bridge for disabled to interact and be independent in their communities.
December 2013