"To Protect and Serve"

Last month, two Northwest Indiana police departments announced initiatives to aid people with autism and their families. While these programs seem rather simple, the potential benefits could be significant in emergency situations. Moreover, these agencies demonstrated their caring and commitment to some of the most vulnerable citizens in their communities, which is certainly impressive and commendable.

On August 28, 2019, the Starke County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page posted an offer of free bumper stickers to families affected by autism or Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Sheriff Bill Dulan noted that these stickers could be posted on homes or vehicles to give first responders a “Heads Up” in an emergency situation “that your child or loved one may need extra assistance.” These bumper stickers bear the symbol of the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and contain the following messages: “Emergency Responder: An occupant may have autism or special needs. May not respond to verbal commands” and “Emergency Responder: An occupant may have Alzheimer’s or dementia. May not respond to verbal commands.”

By providing these bumper stickers at no cost to families with special needs, the Starke County Sheriff’s Office shows their concern for those who may not be able to communicate in an emergency situation. Additionally, this simple method of identification may assist first responders in providing appropriate care and support to special needs people. Furthermore, these stickers offer peace of mind to families dealing with autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia, knowing that their loved ones can receive the special care they need in a crisis.

While the Starke County, Indiana Sheriff’s Office provides free bumper stickers to help identify people with autism, the East Chicago, Indiana police now offer free identification bracelets for people with autism. On August 1, 2019, The Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper published an article written by Paul Czapkowicz titled, “Forces partner to aid autism patients,” explaining a plan by the East Chicago Police Department to help identify people with autism. [To read this article, please click here.] Working with the North Township Trustee’s Office, the police created the Emergency Identity Program. The township trustee’s office provides forms for parents of children with autism who wish to participate in the program. In addition, the agencies are currently working with the local school system to offer the program to students who have autism.

Parents who enroll their children with autism in the Emergency Identity Program will be given a lime green bracelet for their children to wear on their wrists, ankles, or shoes. These bracelets easily identify the wearers as having autism so that police officers can help them cope better in emergency settings. Additionally, North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan showed compassion for people with autism, hoping that the bracelets would have a positive impact instead of “having a stigma to them.” Participation in this program is voluntary, and families who opt to enroll will receive the identification bracelets at no cost to them.

As well as serving as an easily visible cue to first responders that the bracelet wearer has autism, the bracelets are numbered so that police can look up the person’s name, address, and phone number if needed. In addition, the agencies are collaborating with the local 911 dispatch center so that police could be notified in advance if they were going to the home of someone with autism. Yet another benefit of this program could be helping to find lost children who have autism since many children with autism wander from home, school, or other safe places. These bracelets could help police find these children and return them safely home.

Spearheading this initiative is East Chicago police officer Sgt. Justin Orange, Sr., who is the father of a child with autism. He states, “The reason why this was kind of near and dear to us was because I have a son with autism and there’s also another officer on our department who also has a son that has autism.”

In addition to developing the program to identify people with autism by using these bracelets, the East Chicago Police Department has worked with the Autism Society of Indiana to train officers in how to interact with people with autism and how to calm people with autism who may be agitated in an emergency situation. As North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan wisely notes, “With autism, very often there are triggers such as flashing lights and noises that escalate people, and their escalation turns to fight-or-flight.” Along with training police officers, the city has offered seminars for families of children with autism to explain procedures if the police were called to their homes.

Further demonstrating their commitment to helping people with autism, the East Chicago Police are working with the Autism Society of Indiana to provide the department’s squad cars with de-escalation kits. These kits include items, such as stress balls, stuffed animals, and spinners, to help calm people with autism who are overwhelmed by sensory stimuli or upset in a crisis situation.

At the time this newspaper article was written, more than one hundred children and adults with autism had already registered for the East Chicago Emergency Identity Program. Even more encouraging is that nearby communities are developing similar plans to help people with autism. Specifically, in Lake County, Indiana, the town of Munster has initiated a comparable program, and the city of Hammond has recently started their own program. In addition, North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan anticipates that the Lake County towns of Highland and Whiting will also develop similar programs to assist people with autism in the near future.

With the increase in the prevalence of autism, communities must develop plans to help people with autism and their families in emergency circumstances. Being able to identify people who have autism with stickers or bracelets could prove to be a simple yet effective way to assist with this issue. Moreover, training first responders how to interact with and to calm people with special needs could prove vitally important in emergencies. The Starke County Sheriff’s Office and the East Chicago Police Department clearly recognize the needs of people with autism, as evidenced by their recent initiatives designed to help this special needs population. Certainly, they embody the police motto, “To protect and serve,” through their dedicated efforts to help people with autism. Hopefully, more community agencies will follow their lead and develop programs to aid people with autism, especially in emergency situations when they need help the most.

“…help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.” Isaiah 58:10

Breaks and Breakthroughs

Like many students with autism, Alex has a laminated card that reads, “I need a break” his therapist gave him a few years ago. These visual aids communicate an important need for those who have limited verbal skills or for those who simply may be too upset to speak. In addition, knowing that break time is available may also relieve stress. Considering how difficult communication, social interaction, and motor tasks can be for people with autism, certainly they need to know that taking a break is always an option. Over time, as Alex has mastered skills and learned how to cope with stress better, he has relied upon his break card less and less, needing fewer breaks and more easily verbalizing his needs.

In June, after writing this blog for nine years, I decided to take a break from writing at least for the summer. Frustrated with the lack of useful studies being done to help people with autism, I couldn’t find interesting research to share. In addition, I knew that my summer would be devoted to weaning Alex off an anxiety medication that drug companies had stopped manufacturing. Even though he has done well when we have taken him off other medications, we know that he deals with sensory issues as his nervous system adjusts to the changes. Specifically, everything sounds louder to him, and his sense of touch is more sensitive. I imagine that his nerves respond similarly to when numbing subsides after dental work or a foot “wakes up” after being “asleep.” At first, this sensory overload can even be painful until the nerves adjust.

Consequently, we have helped Alex adjust to the changes, keeping him from places where noises could bother him, and understanding that he may be irritable at times, dealing with the physical changes. While he has been adjusting to the medication reduction, I have been continuing to research, hoping to find ways to help him cope in a world that overwhelms him at times. After watching a webinar last month, I found a simple solution that has helped Alex tremendously.

In an online Facebook talk sponsored by TACA, The Autism Community in Action, Dr. Jerry Kartzinel explained the link between autism, anxiety, and adrenaline. He likened some with autism as being like rabbits, who flee when sensing danger, and others as being like lions, ready to fight when adrenaline rises. He recommended monitoring the pulses through fitness devices to observe rushes of adrenaline that cause heart rates to spike. Since all of his explanations made perfect sense to me, especially with my observations of how Alex reacts to anxiety, I began researching fitness trackers.

After comparing various features, I wound up getting a Fitbit Inspire HR (heart rate) for Alex at Target for less than one hundred dollars. Since he always wears a wristwatch, he was unfazed about also wearing a Fitbit on his wrist, especially since it offers data he finds interesting: time, date, steps and distance walked each day, and heart rate. While this Fitbit also records data related to sleep, we don’t have him wear it during the night, for fear it may impede his healthy sleeping habits. At the end of the day, we sync the Fitbit to an app on our iPads and can see graphs showing Alex’s heart rate throughout the day.

In the past month, whenever Alex seems agitated, we ask him to check his pulse on the Fitbit. He then calls out the number displayed, and typically his pulse is over 100 if he’s upset. Because he’s so attuned to his body and numbers, he understands the link between his emotions and his physical response measured by his heart rate. We remind him to get his heart rate down, and he will sit calmly, sometimes rocking, until his heart rate returns to a normal level. As we check his heart rate graph at the end of the day, we are rarely surprised because his numbers correspond to specific events at specific times during the day. Not only can we track any times he was upset marked by increases in his pulse, but we can also see increases in heart rate due to activity, such as coming downstairs for meals or excitement when his therapists come to see him. Moreover, we’ve discovered that he’s remarkably mellow, as evidenced by low pulses, most of the time.

A bonus feature of the Fitbit Inspire HR is the Relax mode, which has also proven quite helpful. The Relax feature flashes instructions on the Fitbit screen, telling the user to focus on breathing and the stars that move on the screen. Intermittently, the Fitbit will send gentle vibrations that softly buzz. According to the website Enabling Devices, “Vibration Therapy Tools are fundamental when working with sensory integration. Vibrating products are beneficial to special needs children especially for those with autism, ADHD, or sensory processing disorder. They can calm kids who need more sensory feedback or help train hypersensitive kids to tolerate more sensations.” Although one might think this buzzing would be annoying to someone with sensitive hearing and touch, Alex finds this gentle stimulation calming. After the two-minute Relax session is complete, Alex’s pulse will usually drop at least twenty beats.

While eliminating an anxiety medication has caused Alex to deal with sensory issues in the past few months, he has adapted remarkably well for the most part. Because he is aware of his physical needs, he usually knows when he needs to take a break. Recognizing the connection between his heart rate and stress has enabled him to be even more in tune with his body and to gain greater control when his adrenaline levels make him feel out of control. Once again, I’m convinced that God guides our path, as research led us to a simple device that has proven extremely helpful to our everyday lives. By keeping track of his heart rate, Alex is learning to cope with stress and better reflect the pure heart God has given him.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’” Matthew: 11:28