Breaking Barriers

Disabilities awareness for first responders is essential.  As emergency personnel work within their communities, it is crucial that they know how to serve all individuals and their families.  Unfortunately, in even the most up-to-date departments, instruction on how to understand the needs, actions and reactions of a person with an intellectual disability is rarely discussed or taught.  As First Responders we know that time is of the utmost importance, and being prepared to recognize that an individual has an intellectual disability, and being able to understand how to serve that individual, can mean the difference between life and death.

There will be 2 offerings of this class on 12/9/22

Our national Breaking Barriers program provides comprehensive training to first responders, on how to serve individuals with intellectual disabilities while training them on how they can better understand and recognize the reactions and perceptions that they might encounter during an emergency situation, and how to break down potential barriers of service.  The course covers understanding and awareness, communication, misconceptions, and stress points and actions of the individual with a disability, allowing for a better understanding of how to work with these behaviors, and what they mean.  The training also offers key points on disabilities and the homes of those with disabilities, that will help keep the first responders safe.  In some geographical areas, we will also introduce into the class an individual with Down syndrome, which will allow attendees to ask questions, and hear for themselves how to better understand communication with people with intellectual disabilities.

This will be a joint event being hosted by the Alabama Firefighters Training Fuondation and Exact Life.