The Madison Police Department (MPD) has announced a new partnership aimed at creating relationships between first responders and members of the special needs community.

According to Lt. Jeremy Yorke, the program, LINKED - Autism Safety Project, is an exciting new initiative focused on “providing the best possible services to those in our autism community.”

LINKED - Autism Safety Project is the creation of Ashley McClain, a North Branford mother of a six-year-old on the autism spectrum. McClain said she created the program to provide an extra level of security and education for both families and first responders when interacting with individuals whose behavior can sometimes be difficult to comprehend for those unfamiliar with autism and also help keep officers and residents safe.

“I have a son on the spectrum, and we have had some interaction with law enforcement, some positive, some negative, and that really started to get me thinking about what information could be useful for first responders to have in case there was a situation in which I wasn’t available or able to communicate the needs of my son,” McClain said.

McClain added that what was originally intended to be a program specific to North Branford, but has now grown rapidly across a number of other departments, including Madison.

“LINKED more or less was something that was going to be for our town of North Branford, but it has really blossomed. We will be in 10 communities by the end of this year, which is huge, and by the beginning of next year in another 15 to 20 communities both in and outside Connecticut,” McClain said.

According to McClain, there is often a pervasive stress for parents with children on the spectrum that goes beyond traditional parental worries and concerns. A scenario in which a parent was unable to coordinate with officers, such as a vehicle accident or medical emergency, looms for parents such as herself, McClain said.

Knowing that critical information about their child’s behaviors and ability to communicate is in the hands of first responders is a small but vital component for all involved in any law enforcement interaction, McClain said.

According to Yorke, any Madison family or caregiver can contact the department and compile important individualized information about the person with autism, which will, in turn, be provided to officers in the field. Yorke emphasized the confidentiality of the program, noting that the information gathered will only be used as needed by first responders.

“There is a form that we use as a template,” Yorke said. “If we ever get an emergency, our dispatchers get an alert on their screens…that provides a photo, and what they’re diagnosed with, along with other key things…so when we get dispatched to a scene, we already have vital information…it is a tool that we will already be armed with when responding, and that we can use to build and establish rapport with an individual that is in need.”

According to Yorke, “Providing this individualized information will assist officers in making a positive connection and building relationships…with individuals in our community on the autism spectrum.”

Madison parents Amanda Russell and Kyle Helmstetter, who have a 10-year-old child on the spectrum, said the program will help alleviate some of their anxiety about potentially life-threatening scenarios and provide some measure of confidence that, in a crisis, first responders will be able to effectively communicate not only with their child but with other family members.

“It [LINKED] is amazing; it makes me feel a little more calm and reassured that if something happened and I couldn’t speak for him, that is an autism mom’s greatest worry, is having an emergency and not being able to handle the situation, knowing that they (first responders) can come in and have all this information and that I don’t need to be able to explain that my son has autism is a relief,” said Russell.

According to Helmstetter, the program will be a crucial component when responders have to interact with nonverbal or verbally limited individuals who may not be able to respond to commands or directives.

“A large portion of the special needs community is nonverbal so…this could help create a communication story for some of these kids who wouldn’t be able to fully understand what the officers need from them, or how the officers could then react to what is happening to that child,” Helmstetter said. “This will be huge in helping keep the kids safe if they are found wandering or if the mother is incapacitated in an accident. There has been a big community of support here, and this program really just grows that support community-wise.”

According to McClain, each family that registers for the LINKED program “will receive a Family Emergency Planning Folder with individualized instructions and a guide that includes tips and tools to navigate this program and an emergency situation.” Critically, the Family Emergency Planning Folders provide a personalized emergency preparedness “Social Story” created by professionals, which contains text and illustrations that can aid in the exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages, according to Yorke.

Yorke said the department will keep both a paper and digitized file of registered individuals that will be cross-referenced by name, address, and other characteristics. That info will be transmitted to responding officers via police dispatch, providing law enforcement with crucial information about the individual they may be encountering, according to Yorke.

Having information such as the likes, dislikes, communication level, and personal behavioral abilities of individuals before arriving on scene or in searching for a lost person, is key to positive outcomes, McClain said.

Another critical aspect of the program, according to Yorke and McClain, is the “Sensory Go Bags” that all Madison Police Department vehicles will now be equipped with. These bags contain tools and devices that will allow first responders to work with a person on the autism spectrum during an emergency, such as textured comfort items, a sensory sack or blanket, which can help calm certain individuals, fidget spinners, as well as other familiar items that children on the autism spectrum utilize as part of their educational experiences.

Yorke said that the department is also coordinating with the Board of Education on the program and is currently integrating it into the school system’s programming.

Any parent or caregiver of someone on the autism spectrum or who is diagnosed with any other condition or syndrome that could impair communication or interactions is urged to register with this program.

For more information or to register, visit the MPD website, www.madisonct.org/197/Police-Department, print out the form, and deliver it in person, by mail, or by email to Lt. Jeremy Yorke at yorkej@madisonct.org or Records Clerk Florence Farrelly at farrellyf@madisonct.org.