Responsive to all: How new Horsham Fire Co. sensory kits are helping those with autism in emergencies

Brian Focht was thinking like a father and firefighter.

His son was young and diagnosed with autism, and Focht was learning firsthand how overwhelming some situations could be for those on the spectrum.

As an emergency responder, he couldn't help but think about how the lights and sirens that accompany a crew's arrival to an emergency might cause or escalate problems.

“How would I want somebody to treat my son?” said Focht, now a lieutenant with the Horsham Fire Co.

That was 15 years ago, and he has been on a mission since.

Focht began conducting various trainings with the Horsham company and nearby emergency services partners to educate first responders on how to recognize signs of someone on the spectrum, and how best to make them comfortable.

This month, his efforts reached a major milestone after the fire company received funding to create their own sensory kits to take to emergency calls.

The kits, assembled in small drawstring gym bags, don't look like much on the outside. However, what's packed inside can make a big difference for people with autism or other sensory disorders.

Inside the bags are tools to help calm a person. They include noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses and fidget spinners, as well as items used to communicate, including a whiteboard and laminated paper letters. Those who are nonverbal can write on the whiteboard, or can use the laminate to spell out what they are trying to say.

“This is a method of communication, without communication," Focht said.

Each kit costs $55 to make.

Autism Speaks, a nonprofit advocacy organization, defines autism, or autism spectrum disorder, as a "broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication."

Focht said one out of 58 children is diagnosed with autism. In Hatboro-Horsham School District, about 88 of the 802 special education students for the 2020-21 school year were on the autism spectrum, according to state data.

It didn't take long to see the kits in action, he said. The first day the kits were available, the company used them.

Focht said the kits aren't meant to take direct oversight away from responders at emergency scenes, but rather help them through the process. The tools in the kit are meant to calm or stimulate someone's nervous system, according to the fire company.

“We want to make sure that person’s looked out for," he said.

The sensory tools, he said, help a person who is "stimming," or repeating motions in response to overwhelming situations.

“It gives them something to focus their direction to,” Focht said of the items in the kits.

He found his message and mission has resonated in the Horsham community and beyond. A recent presentation on the sensory kits to a local Masonic Lodge was received with many members sharing their own connections to someone with autism.

"To a lot of people it’s personal,” Focht said.

Lodge 9 and Jerusalem Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, both based in Warminster, helped fund the creation of the kits. An initial 26 kits were created.

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Kits will be distributed to all Horsham first responder agencies and other nearby emergency services. Horsham Fire Chief Lee Greenberg, who is also the emergency services coordinator for Warrington, said emergency services in that township will also be receiving the kits.

In the Central Bucks School District, which has schools in Warrington, about 315 of 2,428 special education students last school year were autistic, state data shows.

Some of the agencies aren't expecting to use theirs until April, when they receive additional training by Horsham Fire Co. The training coincides with Autism Awareness Month.

Warrington police Chief Daniel Friel said many of his officers are going to the training, which will help them identify those with autism and how they can help them.

He said his department had done some level of training in the past, but getting the new training and kits is the next big step.

“We want individual kits for every officer so they can carry them in their patrol cars," the chief said.

It was a good decision for his department to be involved, he said, because often police officers are the first ones to respond to a scene..

“It makes sense to have the officers be aware of this and have these kits available," Friel said.

Horsham police Chief Scott Fida said his department has two kits, one for each supervisor in the department. Like Warrington, the hope is that Horsham's officers will all be equipped at some point.

He said the department had recently wanted to become more knowledgeable about autism. He said many of his officers will be attending the training in April.

“We’re really excited about getting our people here in the PD more informed," he said.

Fida said the training, and the sensory kits, will help officers tailor their approach when interacting with those on the spectrum. He noted that most things officers do when responding to scenes would be overwhelming to someone with autism or a sensory disorder.

“We really need to significantly tailor our way to how we approach these challenges," he said.

Fida said he also hopes that his department could replicate the kits to make on their own.

Focht said members of the local emergency services have been receptive to past training and have reached out to him at scenes for advice with someone they suspect may be on the spectrum.

“To me that goes a long way," he said.

Hatboro emergency services, Willow Grove Fire Co. and Upper Moreland Police will also be receiving the sensory kits. Horsham Fire Co. intends to make and disperse more kits when funding becomes available.

Focht said he appreciated the "team approach" in that the training and kits went beyond just the Horsham Fire Co.

“That’s what makes things successful," he said.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Horsham Fire Co. makes sensory kits to help those with autism at emergencies