When first responders and police without training in autism encounter someone with the neurological disorder, the call could end in tragedy, a six-member panel of autism experts and advocates said yesterday.

The panel - most of whom have children with the disorder - provided special training to about 40 members of private security firms, and ambulance and fire crews at Nassau police headquarters in Mineola.

To help protect autistic people from harm, the session, called “Autism and the First Responders,” provided clues on how to identify signs of the disorder and guidelines on proper responses.

For someone unfamiliar with autistic behavior, some actions might be perceived as threatening or violent when in fact they’re a result of the disorder, the panel said.

“Autism is a condition that sometimes looks like a crime,” said panelist James Mulvaney, a former Newsday reporter whose son, Dan, 20, has the disorder. “But a seizure is not an assault.”

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