By John Kriz
New Canaan Mounted Troop [https://www.newcanaanmountedtroop.org] (NCMT) reached out to support the wider community last Sunday, hosting a Sensory Friendly Public Safety Day at its facility on Carter Street.
Many people in our community have autism or other neuro-divergent conditions – conditions that may be invisible. This can create challenges when they interact with the wider community. People with neurodivergent conditions can have sharp reactions to stressful or unfamiliar situations, which often occur when fire, police and/or EMS personnel are involved. A key goal of this Sensory Friendly Public Safety Day was to provide opportunities for people with these conditions to meet and get to know first responders, and the vehicles and equipment they use, so that there can be a greater sense of comfort and understanding for all involved.
Supportive Not-For-Profits
To help make this effort effective, NCMT partnered with not-for-profits Linked Autism Safety Project https://www.linkedasp.com and Inclusive Together https://www.inclusive2gether.com According to NCMT’s Felicia Alford, the Troop’s facility is especially appropriate for such an event as it’s a quiet, low-key location.
Linkedasp’s president Ashley McClain noted, “there was a difference between the community of individuals with disabilities and first responders, and it’s important to bridge that gap, provide opportunities for them to feel safe and secure with one another.”
Ms. McClain’s efforts include training for first responders to better identify people with such invisible disabilities, and to implement strategies to be able to make situations safe for everyone involved. In addition, Linkedasp has provided New Canaan police cars with “sensory kits that have everything from communication tools to fidget toys — sensory reduction tools that could be provided from the first responder to an individual with a disability in a high stress or emergency situation to, again, bridge that gap and provide a level of comfort when they’re interacting with one another.” This effort is being rolled out to New Canaan’s fire and EMS as well.
“We just love working with New Canaan and its residents,” Ms. McClain concluded.
Inclusive Together president Lauren Tarzia noted that, “a lot of families are very isolated at home and they’re not going out into the community and enjoying all the wonderful things that New Canaan has to offer. And there’s the Mayfair, there’s the fireworks, there’s even going downtown and going to dinner. It’s such a beautiful place to raise your family, but we do a lot of training for different organizations and businesses so that they can make their businesses more sensory-friendly.”
First Responders
New Canaan fire, police and EMS were all represented with personnel and equipment. People explored patrol cars, looked around an ambulance, tried on firefighters’ turnout gear and climbed into a fire truck.
“I love it,” said Alexandra Vega, one of the attendees who is also in the NCMT’s Super Trooper Equine Care program. However, she found the firefighters’ turnout gear to be “hot and heavy.”
Ms. Alford of NCMT concluded with “just being able to reach out, come and see the different first responders, get in their trucks, meet them, put faces and names together and not have it be in the middle of an emergency for that person, and make it fun and enjoyable” made the event important and valuable.
