Eli, 6, spends his days in a classroom at Irving Elementary in Indianola. Mom Amanda Bradley says, “He really likes school. He’s just kind of a fun techie 6-year-old.”
But, the kindergartner with autism, epilepsy and developmental delays has dreams of being a crime fighter. Bradley says, “He loves everything they do. He loves seeing the police car. At the grocery store, he likes being in the police cart.”
That’s where Senior Police Officer Chuck Guhl comes in. His mom asked the 37 year veteran of the Des Moines Police Department to just show Eli his car, but it turned into much more than that. She says, “I just thought this would be something real fun and boyish that he could do. It wasn’t a therapy appointment. I was just something Eli could do for Eli, and have a good time doing it.”
Eli got to spend about three hours riding around with Guhl while he was off duty, learning what it takes to be a police officer. Officer Guhl says, “We went up to the Police Academy, and I showed him around where all the officers train and took him out to the firearms range. And, he got to wear one of the helmets that the SWAT officers wear.” (Read more about the child getting to be a police officer for a day HERE)
Read more: http://joemiller.us/2015/01/child-autism-gets-police-officer-day/#ixzz3QVCKoiI6
Read more at http://joemiller.us/2015/01/child-autism-gets-police-officer-day/#8UPfwESKtwSfbopP.99
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