Autism kits equip first responders in emergencies

Feb. 19—PORTAGE — First responders in Portage Township have a new tool to help children with autism calm down and communicate in emergency situations.

Joyce Russell of the Portage Township trustee's office led an effort to assemble autism kits to place in police vehicles, firetrucks and other emergency vehicles.

The kits contain dry-erase boards, noise-canceling earphones, sunglasses and fidget toys to help calm people with autism dealing with sensory overload during emergencies.

"I was pretty moved at how autism affects so many different people," Trustee Brendan Clancy said. Russell said Portage Township Schools had about 200 students somewhere on the autism spectrum last year.

After the project began, she learned her own grandson is a high-functioning autistic child.

Clancy said he believes the project is the first of its kind in Indiana. Inspired by Sheriff Dave Reynolds' One County, One Protocol philosophy, Clancy hopes the program will spread to other townships, other counties and ultimately statewide.

The project includes providing wristbands for children that will help first responders identify children and their parents more quickly. The database can also provide details — like a child really likes trains — as a way to help first responders interact with the children, Russell said.

Matt Emmons of the Ogden Dunes Police Department said he has spent up to an hour identifying children with autism and locating their parents. The bracelets will be linked to a database for rapid results.

Easing sensory overload

Noise-canceling earphones also will be useful, he said. When police and firefighters respond to an emergency, the flashing lights and sirens can provide a sensory overload to children and adults with autism. "This will give us a better resource to deal with that," Emmons said.

Fidget toys in the kit can help children calm down, regardless of whether they have autism, he said.

The autism kits come with instructions on how to order replacement fidget toys and other devices as necessary.

Russell's team raised more than $10,000 to purchase and assemble the kits. Continued fundraising will be necessary to replenish materials in the kits as they're used, Clancy said.

Recent arrests booked into Porter County Jail

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