Items in a new Autism Canada kit available to Nanaimo RCMP officers include headphones, sunglasses, fidget toys and a teddy bear. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

COMMUNICATION SUPPORTS

VIDEO: New sensory support kits enabling front-line officers to better interact with more people

May 29, 2022 | 5:56 AM

NANAIMO — Items specifically designed to connect with people in crisis, who can’t communicate, are part of a new set of tools for local first responders.

A total of 15 of the distinctive red backpacks are distributed across Nanaimo in the vehicles of school liaison officers, supervisors, select front-line officer vehicles and Cst. Josh Waltman’s cruiser.

Waltman is the Nanaimo RCMP’s mental health liaison officer and campaigned for the local detachment to add the kits to their tool kit.

“In talking to people who have families, and are living with children who have autism they say this is a super great kit with everything you need.”

Inside are a range of tools for officers to use to better interact with people who are non-verbal or suffer from other communication or sensory challenges.

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A booklet of cue cards can be a gateway into communication for those who are too traumatized, or can’t, speak. Some show different parts of the body for people to indicate pain or injury, while others are focused on needs and wants.

“(The cards) can either be utilized by us as first responders or by (the clients). So I can go to them and say ‘hello, I’m a police officer and I’m here to help’, or I can give it to them and they can flick through the booklet and say ‘I want a doctor, or I want a nurse’,” Waltman told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Also in the kit are ear muffs to dampen sound, sunglasses to reduce light inputs, a teddy bear, fidget toys, a stress ball, a fleece blanket and a whiteboard.

Everything is designed to make a connection and build trust to work through challenges.

“A smart training Corporal once said to me it’s better to be looking at it than for it so this is something we can utilize on a case by case basis,” Waltman said. “If we do need to use it and we’re ever in a situation where we’re not getting anywhere, maybe we can pull this out, gain trust and support the client the best way we can.”

Waltman joined the Nanaimo detachment in his role in November 2020 and is deployed to a wide range of scenarios involving mental health challenges.

He said building a rapport with people is key, which often means stripping away the extra layers police officers carry including a formal uniform and even his rank.

“There’s clients we’ll see more than once, they’ll see my car pulling up and they’ll know it’s Josh, I’m a first name person, I never come up and say ‘hey, this is Cst. Waltman’. Having the familiar face helps them out and they know how I operate and I know what they prefer and I think it’s beneficial.”

Through his first year on the job, Waltman was linked to over 500 different mental health-related files.

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