CTC Outreach Program

In 2015, Celebrate the Children started an Outreach Program designed to support First Responders interfacing with individuals with disabilities, particularly autism, in crisis or trauma situations.
 
Our 1-2 hour presentation includes tips from an interdisciplinary team of Educators, Autism Experts, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and a Panel with special needs participants who can answer questions, and relate to their experiences. 

There is no cost for the presentation. 

As part of this program, we developed Outreach Kits that are distributed to First Responders. These kits are students assembled and were developed based on what we know about sensory processing. Sirens and flashing lights can cause sensory overload for some individuals with disabilities. Our hope is to give first responders tools to help them communicate better while minimizing anxiety levels.
 
Each kit, which is often sponsored, contains specific tools that can be used to support an individual with special needs in a high anxiety or stressful situation. 

Example tools within each kit include: 
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• A Social Story: Riding in an Ambulance
• Visuals to help an individual communicate how they are feeling or if they are hurt: emotion cards, YES/NO, body part ID, etc. This is critically important for the non-verbal population.
• Specific sensory supports: hats, fidgets, sunglasses, headphones, etc., since this population is extremely sensitive.
• Communication tools: white board, letter board, etc.
• Toy: something to create a distraction, if needed
• Mirror​
• Timer

If you would like more information regarding our CTC Outreach Program, or if you would like to schedule a presentation or sponsor kits, please contact us below.
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