As his production assistants fitted a microphone onto Iredell County Sheriff's Office Deputy Tim Byrd, Dennis Debbaudt continued to tweak the scenario he was getting ready to film.
Debbaudt and a team from Debbaudt/Legacy Productions spent three days in Statesville filming a video to help train law enforcement, magistrates, first responders and judges on how to deal with autism.
The desire to teach those who may encounter persons with autism under stressful situations, Debbaudt said, is drawn from his own experiences as the father of an autistic son.
In 1994, Debbaudt wrote "Avoiding Unfortunate Situations," which explores interactions between children with autism and adults, and how law enforcement professionals deal with those living with autism.
Debbaudt said he decided to shoot his latest film in Iredell County at the urging of another autism advocate, Kim Taylor, a retired Superior Court judge who is also the mother of an autistic son.
Taylor's husband, Byrd, helped with the production, playing the detective in a case involving an autistic suspect.
Debbaudt said the purpose of the video is not to address any legal issues, but instead to educate the judicial and emergency services community about the challenges and limitations of dealing with an autistic person.
"The Statesville scenes don't deal with guilt or innocence," he said. "The scenario allows the viewer to see and hear what autism looks like and sounds like at the more independent, high-functioning level."
While Debbaudt traces his roots in autistic advocacy and the judicial community back to the mid-1990s, the issue came to the forefront in Statesville in 2004 after a 44-year-old autistic man died in custody at the Iredell County Detention Center.
Taylor took up the mantle of educating law enforcement to recognize and deal with autism after that death, and her efforts reached statewide.
Now, thanks to the efforts of Debbaudt and Taylor, the education will reach a much wider audience.
Debbaudt said educating this segment of society about autism is crucial because many of the normal behaviors of an autistic person can be misunderstood.
"In most cases, the person will have difficulties following verbal commands, reading body language, and will have deficits in social understanding," he explained. "Whether as offender or victim-witness, persons on the autism spectrum will present dilemmas in the interview and interrogation room."
He said training such as that offered by this video can help avoid misleading statements or false confessions and, ultimately, save time for investigators.
Taylor said she's pleased Debbaudt brought his production team to Iredell County to shoot the video. She believes it will help educate about the needs of autistic individuals.
Debbaudt said the scenario in the video involved an autistic young man who is suspected of crimes involving the Internet.
He said this is a real possibility for those with autism, even those individuals who live with a full-time caretaker.
"They, most likely, would unknowingly get involved," he said.
That leads to questioning by law enforcement and, ultimately, an appearance in court.
Debbaudt said the entire purpose of this video is to give those who might deal with an autistic person resources to ease that meeting for both the first responders and the individual.
He and Taylor both said individuals with autism may be difficult for law enforcement, magistrates and others to recognize.
There are no obvious physical markers, although some individuals may cover their ears or eyes, rock and flap their hands or arms, all of which could be mistaken for disruptive or intoxicated behavior, he said.
"This will give basic information about autism and how it may affect them in their jobs," Debbaudt said. "Hopefully, they will be better informed, and if so, everyone wins."
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