The Autism News | English


When a building is burning and firefighters are focused on saving lives and the difference between life and death is a matter of seconds, they can be stopped in their tracks by an autistic child.

“A lot of the time, people with autism don’t understand what’s going on so they don’t know what’s expected of them,” said Capt. Bill Cannata, an autism first responder educator. “They’re going to do opposite of what a first responder would think.”

It’s that kind of situation that inspired a new autism seminar at the FDNY training academy Wednesday that dealt with what to do when handling an autistic child at an emergency.

Cannata, from the Westwood, Mass. Fire Department, travels the country, teaching emergency responders how to deal with autistic children.

In an emergency, for example, loud noises, flashing lights and chaos can send an autistic child into sensory overload. They can resist rescue, run into a fire instead of away from it, or even attack and bite the very person trying to rescue them.

Cannata’s own son, Ted, has autism.

“He can be very aggressive; Ted’s a biter,” said Cannata. “If you keep getting into his personal space, he’s probably going to bite.”

NBC4 New York

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The Autism News | English

Author Motesem ”Moe” Mansur, 25, knows first hand what it is like to be autistic, and his talent continues to amaze many people.

In the library at Woodgate School, located in south suburban Matteson, fourth and fifth graders listened to Moe read from his book, Teddy Turbine: A Quarterback with Autism.

“It’s about a sixth grader that nobody understood because he had autism, and everybody rejected him until he decided to try out for his school football team, and everything changed. He had talents in football, and he used them and he proved a whole school wrong about autism,” the author said.

Moe said he could relate to the main character, Teddy.

“I was picked on many times when I was growing up, and it was very tough for me — very, very tough. And I figured, you know what, I’m going to make a difference for someone else,” Moe said.

This is Moe’s third book. His other two books also feature characters with autism.

“It affects me a lot because there are certain behaviors I do, like pace the floor, and I can’t talk to people direct sometimes. I have trouble concentrating. I can’t carry conversations very well. Sometimes I’m friendly and outgoing, but most of the time I am isolated,” he said.

ABC7 News

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