The School of Education draws attention to safety issues of individuals with autism

The event titled “Safety Skills Awareness for Individuals with Autism” was organized by the Department of Special Education of the School of Education at Istanbul Medipol University. The event, which took place in the South Campus Conference Hall, covered autistic individuals and safety skills, safe intervention in case of problematic behavior, and safety measures that can be taken for children with autism in the digital world in a broad framework. The speakers of the event, in which the Office of Students with Disability was also a stakeholder, included the Tohum Autism Foundation Education R&D Director Dr. Nursinem Şirin, Board Certified Behavior Analyst M.S. BCBA Başak Topçuoğlu, SOBE Foundation Education Director Dr. Z. Alperen Sağdıç, and Assoc. Prof. Berat İlhan Ceylan, who shared his experiences with his child with autism.

DR. ŞİRİN: INDIVIDUALS MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY PERCEIVING DANGER 
Dr. Nursinem Şirin emphasized that safety skills are vital for individuals with autism and said: “While some safety skills are frequently encountered in daily life, others are only necessary in rare cases. For instance, using a knife in the kitchen is necessary every day, but knowing what to do in case of loss is a skill that is only needed at certain times.”

In addition, Dr. Şirin stated that safety skills can be classified in different ways in home, school, work environment, and social areas and said: “These individuals may sometimes have difficulty perceiving danger or may have difficulty communicating an event they have experienced to their families or authorities. Some methods can also be used to develop the safety skills of individuals with autism.” She emphasized the importance of learning and practicing safety skills.

TOPÇUOĞLU: SAFE INTERVENTION TRAINING IS A MUST 
Touching on the importance of protecting both oneself and the individual when working with individuals with special needs, M.S. BCBA Başak Topçuoğlu said: “During the intervention, respecting the dignity of the individual, meeting their basic needs, and providing a safe environment should be the priority. Just as employees in a factory need to use protective equipment for their work safety, experts working with individuals with special needs should also take the necessary safety precautions.”

Topçuoğlu, who explained how problem behaviors can be dealt with through safe intervention training based on her own experience, said: “I have been slapped, scratched, and kicked, but because I had safe intervention training, I knew what strategy to follow in such situations. I think this training should be updated every year. There is a great need to make such intervention methods scientifically based and widespread in Türkiye.” He expressed that scientific studies in this area should increase.