First Responders In Horsham Township Will Now Be Equipped With Autism Sensory Kits

HORSHAM, PA — Various first responders in Horsham Township and beyond will now be equipped with sensory kits designed to help emergency response personnel in their interactions with individuals in the community who have autism.

The Horsham Fire Company No. 1 announced this week that they put together 26 sensory kits with the help of funding from Lodge 9 and Jerusalem Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, kits that will be made available to various emergency response organizations in both Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

"With one out of 58 children being diagnosed with Autism there is increased frequency with interactions with these individuals as they are 7 times likely to have an interaction with emergency services," Brian Focht, a lieutenant with the Horsham Fire Co., wrote in a community news release announcing the project. "We are a community-based organization and want the community to know how we prepare to help the people we serve. We feel that the message of Autism and how responders react in an emergency is imperative to support those on the spectrum and we hope you can help us share the message."

The project also goes hand-in-hand with training for emergency responders that is planned for the first quarter of 2022, Focht wrote.

Focht stated that many of the local emergency response organizations have had training conducted by a Horsham Fire Co. lieutenant who also is the father of a boy with autism.

The sensory kits contain toys that are designed to help calm or stimulate an individual's nervous system.

"The use of the sensory kit is designed to support the emergency scene operations of a person with Autism or other sensory disorders that can be overwhelmed by the situation," Focht wrote in the news release. "It is not designed to take away from direct oversight of the person but more aid them through whatever the emergency is you are on site of and offer support to get them thru it."

Focht, who noted the kits are designed to be used for both children and adults with autism, stated that the kits would provide first responders with the "tools on hand to help keep [individuals'] sensitive nervous systems regulated," and could go a "long way toward preventing sensory-induced meltdowns."

The following organizations are expected to receive one of the sensory kits:

Horsham Police Department, Horsham Township Fire Marshal's Office, Willow Grove Fire Co., Upper Moreland Police Department, Hatboro Fire Co. and the Hatboro Police Department, all located in Montgomery County, in addition to the Warrington Fire Co., Warrington Ambulance, Warrington Department of Emergency Services and the Warrington Police Department just across the county line in Bucks County.