Autism and the Law Enforcement Response
Notice
- This event meets the criteria for specific mandated training
- Non members please click here to contact us to request access to online registrations.
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Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, April 27, 2026
Class Time(s): 4/28/2026: 8:00 AM -- 4:00 PM
Registration Deadline: Monday, April 27, 2026
Class Time(s): 4/28/2026: 8:00 AM -- 4:00 PM
Instructor Location:
Romeoville Police Department
Instructor: Bart BartaRomeoville Police Department
1050 West Romeo Road
Romeoville, IL 60446
Driving Directions
Romeoville, IL 60446
Member's Fee: $0
Non-Member & Civilian Fee: $0
Autism and the Law Enforcement Response training course will provide law enforcement personnel with a basic understanding of autism and how individuals with autism behave, communicate, and react in various situations. Furthermore, it will address high-risk and crisis incidents and provide officers with tips and strategies to defuse and deescalate the situation. Additionally, it will address how to conduct interviews involving victims, witnesses, and suspects who have autism.
Learning Objectives:
Understand what autism is and how people are affected by it.
Recognize possible signs of autism.
Understand how autism affects people differently.
Develop alternative ways of identifying people with autism.
Understand the various challenges of interviewing people with autism.
Recognize de-escalations strategies for reducing stress and anxiety in autistics.
Understand what types of crimes and schemes that people with autism are more likely to become a victim.
Recognize the importance of developing departmental policies and procedures for addressing missing person cases involving people with autism.
Topics Covered:
Typical law enforcement contacts
Crisis intervention techniques
Interview techniques
Missing persons, elopement, and wandering
Emergency/Involuntary Commitments
Arrest and restraint
De-escalation techniques
Tools of disclosure
Available resources
Instructor:
Autism and the Law Enforcement Response is instructed by Bart Barta. Bart is the proud father of Daniel, an adult with autism. Bart understands many of the challenges faced by individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorder. Bart is a retired law enforcement commander with more than 31 years of experience. He is also a nationally recognized instructor who has trained more than 20,000 first responders to interact with people who have autism successfully. Bart is recognized as a subject matter expert by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and in 2017 he was selected to contribute to the development of autism curriculum for officers in the state of Florida. Bart served as an instructor for the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training Program for Florida's Eleventh Circuit Court's Mental Health Project for more than ten years. He is also a former SWAT and Crisis Management Team (Hostage Negations) Commander. Bart's last assignment was serving as the commander of the Coral Gables Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division, where he was responsible for managing the investigation of all violent and non-violent crimes. For six years, Bart served as a member of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University's Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) Constituency Board.
Funded in Partnership with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board, ILEAS, and ICJIA.
This training covers the following mandates:
- Autism-Informed Law Enforcement Response - 3 hours
- Constitutional / Proper Use of LE Authority - 1 hours
- Crisis Intervention - 1 hours
- Human Rights - 1 hours
- Officer Safety Techniques - 1 hours
- Use of Force: De-escalation Techniques - 1 hours
- Officer & Youth Interaction - 8 hours
