The East Haven Police Department (EHPD) has announced a new partnership with the local program LINKED - Autism Safety Project in an effort to build positive relationships between emergency service personnel and neurodiverse people.

Deputy Chief Patrick Tracy said the program's implementation marks “an excellent advancement” for the EHPD and will foster greater inclusivity in the community.

“By establishing this relationship with our autistic and special needs community, it is yet another opportunity for the department to strengthen the trust and confidence in first responders ability to effectively communicate with all members of the community,” said Tracy.

LINKED, an organization dedicated to linking municipalities and members of the autism community, was founded by North Branford resident Ashley McClain. McClain, the mother of a son with autism, said she understands the challenges for neurodiverse people to communicate their needs to police officers. While those specific challenges and needs will differ from child to child, McClain said many on the spectrum may not be able to tell a first responder verbally what their needs are. In response, neurodiverse children can “elope” or wander from an interaction out of fear or intimidation, the latter action something common among those on the autism spectrum.

Many children on the spectrum find themselves attracted to water as they wander out of fear or curiosity, which can lead to terrible results, McClain said. Statistics provided by LINKED from the nonprofit awareness group Autism Speaks find that drowning is “the leading cause of death for children with autism,” accounting for approximately 90% of deaths associated with eloping by children under the age of 14.

By providing first responders and families with the specific tools and tips for neurodiverse people for an interaction with a person in uniform, positive — and life-saving — communication can take place and lead to supportive relationships.

“It's really important for families like myself and individuals like my son to understand that first responders can be there to support them and help them. It's also important for first responders to understand that our community looks a little different than most,” said McClain.

One of the tools that will be provided to families when they register to take part in the program is a Family Emergency Planning Folder. This blue folder provides basic steps for what to do in an emergency, right down to calling 911. The folder contains important information on the individual caught in an emergency, including their diagnoses and any type of behaviors that are important for the first responder to know, said McClain.

To quell what can be an overwhelming situation even for neurotypical individuals answering questions from first responders, having pre-written information to recite back what's on that form can be helpful, said McClain.

“Another form that we have in there is specific to an elopement, so it actually allows the families and caregivers to have a predetermined search party, if you will, of family [and] friends that that individual already knows,” added McClain. “Each of them has a predetermined search location to go to.”

Also included with the folders are social stories, which are personalized learning tools containing text and illustrations “describing to the individual that if a police officer or a firefighter were coming to your house, they're there to provide support to you,” said McClain.

“I see it as the responsibility of the parent to read that story to the individual to allow them to kind of have an understanding of who these people are coming to their homes, or helping them in a car accident, or whatever the situation may be,” she said.

Police officers and their patrol vehicles will be equipped with sensory kits containing various sensory products recommended by professionals in the field, according to the EHPD. These kits will contain fidget toys, dry-erase boards with markers, and other tools used in educational and health environments.

While officers will receive an overview on using the materials, “the individual that they're interacting with has the knowledge and how these materials work,” said McClain.

If an individual who is verbally challenged is handed a dry-erase board with markers, they can write or draw a picture as a form of communication.

Those resources can be helpful to numerous individuals on the spectrum, as Autism Speaks finds that 25 to 30% of people on the spectrum “are nonverbal or minimally verbal.”

“When the individual sees the first responders coming in with those tools and that sensory bag, it's an automatic sense of trust and respect because they know that that person has something that they want or it can help them in a stressful situation,” said McClain.

Aside from tools and tips, the visibility of a person registered as a LINKED individual can allow officers to adjust their response to an emergency according to that individual's needs. McClain raised an example of how, by looking at a person’s profile, an officer will know whether that person has a sensitivity to light and noise and arrive at a home without blaring sirens and their lights flashing to avoid escalating the situation.

Ultimately, providing the necessary resources and response for families and first responders according to the needs of each person on the spectrum is what McClain said can make “a world of difference.”

“They’re additional needs, but in all actuality, they’re basic needs for these individuals to function. The way I look at it is comparing it to learning a new language and being in a new environment,” said McClain. “We have to take that extra time and give them those extra supports to be able to have what they need to not just function but to be able to be happy and successful.”

Registration for the LINKED program is available at the EHPD’s website, www.easthavenpolice.com/linked.

According to the EHPD, “All registrations are secure and confidential and used only for the response of East Haven first responders.”