Autism & Law Enforcement Education Coalition

On Friday, October 2, 2015, The ALEC Program brought a team of participants to volunteer for Massport in their Operation Ready 2015 drill.  The drill consisted of reenacting the Asianic Airlines Crash that took place in San Diego where there was a fatality and many injured passengers.  Massport at Logan Airport reached out to ALEC to ask them to be a part of the drill.  They wanted to include people diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and other intellectual and developmental disabilities so they could have the experience of evacuating passengers with disabilities off of a plane in an emergency/crisis situation.  Over 180 passengers were boarded on a plane on a runway at Boston Logan International Airport on that cold and rainy morning.  ALEC brough 18 participants- 9 of which were diagnosed with autism and other related intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The drill was a success, and our participants got to experience what it would be like to exit a plane in the event of an emergency and go through the triage process of emergency medical care and evaluation.  The First Responders on the scene also received the invaluable experience of what it would be like to care for people with disabilities in a crisis situation and learned a lot about changing their approach and best meeting the needs of the passengers with disabilities.

After the drill was complete, Massport Fire gave our participants a tour of their Fire House. 

Operation Ready 2015 was a HUGE success, and ALEC was a part of that!!!

We thank you for your support of this important program.  With your help, ALEC is making sure that people diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and other related intellectual and developmental disabilities are prepared and kept safe during crisis situations and that our First Responders who are here to keep all of us safe have the education and knowledge base to best serve our most vulnerable citizens.