NORTH BRANFORD, Conn. — A North Branford woman is connecting with police departments all across Connecticut, arming them with information to help respond to calls involving people diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder.
The program, called LINKED-Autism Safety Project, was launched in June.
“What the program is really about is building relationships and collaborations with municipalities to help them understand the community like my sons, and ours. And for us to understand their community as well too,” said Ashley McClain, Founder of LINKED-Autism Safety Project.
McClain’s six-year-old son, Colton, was diagnosed with autism when he was about three and a half. In January, she got in touch with North Branford Police, wanting to tell them about her son’s diagnosis just in case they ever have an encounter with their family. This, after McClain had a not-so-comfortable encounter with an officer in another department
“We were pulled over, I admittedly was speeding. He was also having seizures in the back of the car so I was on his way from his speech therapy to the emergency room,” McClain said.
When she called North Branford PD to brainstorm, they were immediately on board with the idea.
“We didn’t have a policy to address this,” said Deputy Chief James Lovelace with the North Branford Police Department.
Soon, after lots of back and forth, McClain developed a program using existing materials to not only conduct training with officers but also create “sensory packs” that they could put in their cruisers.
“And it just talks about what is autism? What it might look like, what you might see, what you might experience with someone that is on the spectrum,” McClain said. “And how to use that collectively to best support the individual that you might be approaching at a situation whether it’s a car accident or you know, visiting their home.”
The sensory packs include things like a whiteboard and cue cards for non-verbal folks, fidget toys, noise-canceling headphones, light sensitivity glasses, and more. But it’s about more than the materials.
“It’s the relationship building, it’s the trust that the individuals are now seeing in the police officers or the firefighters that are now coming to their houses,” McClain said.
The program also includes a form that police departments use, called the “Autism Alert System” where families in the town/city can voluntarily sign up. The form includes information about how best to communicate with the child and any sensitivities they might have. That information is confidential and goes to straight the police, but McClain cannot see or access the information.
So far, North Branford police said the program is working.
“Knowledge is power right and if we can take the stress level for a family or for a child down before we even arrive on scene, that’s not just huge for us, but it pays dividends down the road for every family,” Deputy Chief Lovelace said.
A total of six departments have begun implementing the project. That includes North Branford Police, Watertown Police, Beacon Falls Police, Beacon Hose Co. 1, West Haven Fire Dept., and East Haven Police.
McClain said many others, however, have expressed interest.
“I’ve received nothing but overwhelmingly positive support and I’m just very grateful and excited to see where it takes us,” McClain said.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.