WEEK OF AUGUST 1, 2024
VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 31
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RTD hopes live cameras will boost security Studying where ADHD and autism meet Non-profit social group considers dual diagnosis BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
live look-in system supersedes prior technology, in which dispatch could only hear audio inside the bus, states RTD. With the live look-in system, RTD’s public safety dispatchers can use a secure, cellular network connection to hear audio and view video in realtime from the cameras on board the vehicle. The new approach helps bus dispatch and the RTD Police Department (RTD-PD) better understand a situation, including how to assist employees and the public promptly, the news release states. RTD-PD pursued the project because the prior system was approaching the end of its useful life, said Israel Laufer, the department’s Integrated Security Systems Program Manager in the news release.
Act for Autism, a nonprofit social venture founded by former actor Jane Gurnett and therapist Tessa Morton in 2015, hosted a virtual autism and ADHD seminar with nearly 1,100 attendees from all over the world. Both Morton, a therapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy and Gurnett, a former theater teacher who was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, spoke to how neurodivergent symptoms often overlap and can create compounding difficulties for individuals. In fact, autism and ADHD are now recognized as co-occuring conditions that can present very differently across individuals. The latest studies showed at the seminar estimate 30% to 50% of children with autism also meet the criteria for ADHD. The shared genetic components behind autism and ADHD likely contribute to their frequent co-occurrence and overlapping symptoms, researchers hypothesize. But the medical field doesn’t always recognize this overlap, particularly in women and girls who are underdiagnosed. This is likely due to the way their symptoms present, according to the National Autistic Society. A decade ago, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders did not recognize or allow the existence of ADHD and autism as a dual diagnosis; it was
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• Vestas to lay off 200 employees
RTD buses are being fitted with live look-in technology to boost safety.
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Dispatcher can view cameras in real time during emergency situations • Page 3
•27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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The Regional Transportation District is adding new technology to the agency’s metro-wide bus fleet that allows dispatchers to both view and hear what is going on in each vehicle in the moment. RTD began installing live-look-in equipment in early 2023 for use in emergency situations, according to RTD. The new system enables RTD’s public safety dispatchers to both see and hear individuals, situations and events occurring in a vehicle as it’s
happening, RTD states. “The ability for RTD’s public safety dispatchers to view the interior of a bus in real time should provide comfort both to the agency’s operators and to customers,” said General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson in a news release. “The live look-in system presents staff and police with a more granular level of detail as they respond to and resolve emergencies. It is imperative that the public feels safe and secure on RTD buses and properties. With the addition of this system, no one is traveling alone.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in September 2020 awarded RTD an approximately $2.4 million grant, which paid for the live look-in software, professional services and five years of maintenance, according to the news release. The
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