Our local county sheriff's office is starting a program to help their officers respond to calls with more patience and awareness when it comes to working with individuals in the neurodiverse community. They offer stickers to place in a home's front door window or in a car window to let police officers know that, should they be involved in a crisis, there is an individual with Autism, Down Syndrome, or other neurodiverse features that might respond to a police officer as a threat with heightened reactions and responses.
There are too many examples of situations where those on the Autism Spectrum over-reacted (as compared to a neurotypical individual) which led to an officer responding with more force to subdue the perceived threat based on the person's response. Yep, the wording here is a bit chunky due to trying to describe the challenges of how to respond to a crisis involving someone who is part of the neurodiverse community.
Officers in our local county are encouraging the use of these stickers so that they have a heads up or a hint that the interaction they will have might be different. At a local autism support meeting, they shared that they like seeing these stickers because it gives them more situational awareness to be flexible with the person in crisis.
We love this compassionate approach from law enforcement and their desire to improve their care and support for those on the Autism Spectrum and those in the neurodiverse world. Our hope is that this program and the awareness around it can lead to safer interactions with law enforcement for our neurodiverse kids, students, and adults! Sorry about the fuzzy image...the stickers were a bit blurred but they still work.
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