WELLINGTON, Fla. — It's a day of learning combined with a day of fun.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office hosted its annual Day for Autism in Wellington to help build an important relationship between law enforcement and the autism community.
Families learned about different resources in the community, including drowning prevention and applied behavior analysis therapy.
Around 1% of of the world's population is on the autism spectrum and the Florida has the highest rate of those diagnoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Event organizer Scott Poritz says when law enforcement responds to a call where someone has autism, communication and situations can get difficult. But through this event, families can connect with local law enforcement and build relationships that could help calm those situations.
"I want the families that are visiting here today to know that between the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Village of Wellington, the Center for Autism and Related Disability, we all partner together for them to come out here and have a day of fun and positive experience and the opportunity for the families to experience things that may not necessarily be able to experience in regular events.
Jupiter police also will host a similar event in April to build bridges between law enforcement and fire rescue and people with autism.
