Coweta County moms champion autism awareness for first responders

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Two Coweta County mothers say it is their mission to help teach first responders what to expect in their encounters with children with autism. 

Emily Chambers and Abby Kimbell aim to educate first responders not only on what to expect but also on how to assist children in need. 

"My daughter is 3. Her name is Evelyn," said Kimbell. "The main thing for her is difficulty speaking." 

"My son is Crew," said Chambers. "He is 3-and-a-half years old and looks like a 5-year-old. His autism presents in a more of physical way, more of a behavioral way." 

Emily and her husband Charles started the Inclusion Project Foundation right after their son’s diagnosis. Charles is a deputy with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. 

Some things Emily and Abby help train first responders on are how to identify autistic individuals, strategies to gain cooperation and compliance without force, and strategies to overcome communication challenges. 

"When it comes to law enforcement, autism can present as very physical and sometimes violent and if there is something we can do to get the word autism in the back of the officer's mind just in those first 30 seconds, a lot can be prevented," Chambers said. 

The Inclusion Project Foundation gives free sensory kits to departments to help calm a child. They can be carried in patrol cars, EMS units or kept at police stations. The kits include things like headphones, sunglasses, fidget toys, and cards that children can use to communicate how they feel or what they need. 

"If an officer sees a child having a breakdown or is very dysregulated, they can help them out by having a tool on and the knowledge to help them," Chambers said. 

"Evelyn and Crew are 3. They are adorable. If something happened to them an officer would take great care of them. But we have about 15 years to make the community a safer place for when they are adults," Kimbell said. 

You can learn more about the Inclusion Project Foundation on their website as well as support their mission through Amazon purchases of the sensory kits.