A MOMENT OF UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT

The day was sunny and a little warm as I got out of my car. I had been out to assess an older man at a nursing facility in Wilton CT. The assessment went well and the drive home was pleasant. I set up my laptop to complete the assessment form when I heard yelling outside my house. Walking outside to find the source of the commotion, I witnessed car stopped diagonally blocking my street (a dead end) and a tall teen male grabbing and hitting a smaller older woman. A younger teen girl was trying to stop the boy from inflicting any further damage.

Several people had stopped and appeared to be calling the police. Two men tried to talk to the teen boy to no avail. I ran up and stood between the boy and the woman. I learned that she was his mother and the young girl was his sister. The boy’s mom said he has Autism. I quickly realized that he was completely overwhelmed and could not regulate his emotions. Police quickly appeared. Six police SUVs rolled up with a total of eight officers.

At the time I was moving the boy away from his mom when one of the officers asked me to step aside as I was not a family member. One of the officers asked the boy’s mother if their presence would possibly escalate the situation. She stated that it might. I explained I was a licensed counselor and was able to handle this situation. The officer noticed that the boy was responding to my interventions and said that I could continue. Two other officers stood near just in case the boy escalated. I asked the boy if he wanted to sit on the grass with me and began walking to the curb. He followed as his mom talked with the police officers.

The boy kept on repeating two questions. “Do police cars have propellers?” and “Do police cars fly?” At this time he was kneeling on the grass next to me as I rubbed his back and shoulder, asking him to calm himself. He slowly became calmer and then sat on the grass with me. I asked his mother what the reference was to his questions. She stated he had recently watched the movie Cars. A few minutes later the boy asked to go home and began to pound the grass with his fists when he didn’t get an immediate answer. One officer stepped closer. I knelt closer to the boy and offered that if he calmed down a bit more, he could go home. He looked at me and said, “I’m sorry for hitting my mom.”

He sat on the grass with me still repeating the questions. I suggested that he also tell her he was sorry for hitting her. The boy continued to ask about flying police cars. He appeared to be calming down well enough to leave with his mother. She stated to the police that she was comfortable with transporting him home. The officers thanked me for stepping in and calming the boy down.  I walked the boy to his mom. “I’m sorry for hitting you mom,” he said as he got into the back seat with his sister.

The police took my information and thanked me for my support in the situation.  I was entirely impressed with the Fairfield CT police and how they chose to handle the situation. Their understanding and professionalism were great to witness. I gave my information to the boy’s mom before she left. The next day she called to thank me again for my help and said that her son did well on their ride home and was stable.  For me, it was a good day.