Passion: You can’t buy it and you can’t hide it!

Dennis first reported on police related autism issues in the early 1990s. He has since produced over 40 autism and law enforcement related books, reports and training videos. His experiences in autism and law enforcement curriculum range from serving as a: Curriculum Review Team member and resource for the first ever autism curriculum developed for law enforcement Why Law Enforcement Needs To Recognize Autism by the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions in October 1999; a Subject Matter Expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s curriculum Autism Awareness for Law Enforcement in 2017; a cited resource for the POST Field Guide: Police Response to People with Mental Illness or Developmental Disability, by the Municipal Police Officers’ Education & Training Commission, Hershey, Pennsylvania 2001; a consultant to Chicago Police Department’s autism training module in 2007; a Subject Matter Expert for California POST’s training video on autism, 2009; and developed and updated the Autism Trainer’s Guide for NYPD from 2008 through 2018.

As a presenter, trainer and public speaker, Dennis is well known for his ability to connect with diverse audiences, his clear, concise and detailed handouts, creative and effective video illustrations and insight into this subject matter.

Conference Organizers: Dennis presented the closing four hour session for the 2018 class of the FBI’s National Executive Institute for chief executives of  top level law enforcement agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe. Dennis also provided a keynote address for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge at the 2018 Arkansas Law Enforcement Summit and presented training sessions on behalf of Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University’s Embrace Program, Ohio University Police Department among many sessions throughout the past year.

Dennis has presented his multi-media training since 1995 for agencies including the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Illinois Attorney General, Prosecutor’s Association of New Jersey, Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, Cincinnati, NYPD, Connecticut, Houston, Police Service of Northern Ireland (Belfast), and in training rooms and conferences throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland and the United Kingdom. His course and materials have been approved for credit units in over 20 states.

Dennis has trained with NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit, consulted and contributed to the Chicago Police Department’s autism training block, is a cited Autism & Emergency Preparedness Subject Matter Resource at the Department of Homeland Security web site Lessons Learned Information Sharing and consulted to ABC News 20/20 for a segment on autism and false confession. Dennis has been featured in reports by the New York Times. Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Times-Picayune New Orleans, New Jersey TV, Northern Ireland TV, HBO, People Magazine, Wired, Daily Echo (UK) and numerous other print and television outlets.

Dennis resides in Port Saint Lucie, Florida with his wife, Gay, and son, Brad.

Safeguarding You Child with Autism strategies and Tools to Reduce Risks

Chapter 5 – North of the Border – Coauthored by Dennis and Gay Debbaudt for the 2008 book “Embracing Autism”. Click here for more information about the book.