Aussie mum's mission to train police to understand autism

Raising three children who are severely autistic comes with countless and ever-changing challenges. However there is one thing keeps Kathrine Peereboom awake at night - the thought of her boys existing in the world as adults. What will happen to them then?

Kathrine, 43, and husband Stephen, 52, are devoted parents to Oliver, eight, Joshua, seven, and Tyler, six.

"All three of my boys are still in nappies, two are completely non-verbal and I'm not sure that will change in the future," she explains. "What happens if Stephen and I die tomorrow. What happens to my babies?"

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"At the moment there are no facilities for my children that will treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve."

The sleepless nights are when Kathrine came up with the idea for her organisation Spectrum Support and through it she supports members of the autism community and also embarks on specific projects designed to prepare the world for her boys, and other Australians like them, when they are adults.

Spectrum Support First Responder training consists of three "expertly developed courses" which are the result of "decades of field work, clinical experience and interactions with both the ASD community and first responders all around the world".

Kathrine's hope is that first responders, particularly police officers, will learn how to de-escalate situations with severely autistic people without having to resort to restraining them or jailing them.

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Many will remember seeing the images of a nine-year-old severely autistic school girl in Sydney's south-west who was handcuffed by police after suffering an autistic "meltdown" which is, in fact, sensory overload. You can read more about her here.

Kathrine's work isn't just for her children, but for everyone in the autism community - including one man aged in his early 20s who recently had an upsetting experience with police.

"He was in a car and at an RBT (random breath test)," she explains. "He was fourth in line and he was okay but while he was waiting his autism behaviours started and he became mute. The police officers saw his behaviour and pulled him out of his car on suspicion of drug use. He was arrested and thrown in a paddy wagon.

"He was unable to communicate that he had autism."

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The man's response may have looked like dangerous behaviour but was, in fact, a reaction to the stress of the situation.

Autism isn't listed on driver's licences in Australia - a topic which divides many in the autism community. Some argue including a person's autism diagnosis on their licence would unfairly label them, while others believe it is essential to ensure safety during interactions with police.

Kathrine's pilot program to train law enforcement about adults with autism began in June 2019 in NSW and began in Queensland at the end of 2020.

"I am absolutely honoured to be working with the Queensland Police Service," she said at the time.

"Too many autistic people have faced upsetting and dangerous situations where their safety and human rights have been violated due to a lack of understanding by those confronting them."

People with autism sometimes have uncontrollable violent outbursts against themselves, or whoever or whatever is in their way. That could be a wall, or it could be a parent.

Kathrine explains these incidents are often mistaken as domestic violence incidents by police.

Some with autism just want to make friends so they will do whatever potential friends ask of them - including transporting packages from one location to the next.

"We've got 18-year-olds and 20-year-olds living in aged care facilities because their parents can't manage them anymore," she explains. "More and more people are being diagnosed with autism and as a society we need to support them."

If the "true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members", as Mahatma Gandhi famously said, there is much work to be done.

Kathrine admits to having been hurt by criticism that her work is doing more harm than good by highlighting differences, but she has come to accept her work won't please everyone.

Sometimes Kathrine thinks of a conversation she had with a fellow autism parent about pooling resources and building a gated community for their autistic children to live in as adults, where they would have purpose and independence but also services in place to ensure their safety.

It's an expensive fantasy, and one that would attract its own criticism, but one that has been actioned in some parts of the US.

For now, she is devoted to her family and to her work, and she doesn't plan to stop until every member of law enforcement in the country knows what autism looks like in all its forms and knows how to interact effectively to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

She looks forward to the day when she never has to take another phone call about a vulnerable severely autistic child, teen or adult suffering mistreatment at the hands of those who don't understand. Then, and only then, will she rest.