Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S. The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention reports that 1 in every 31 children is on the autism spectrum, and more adults are being diagnosed.
In the Big Bend area, a free resource for these individuals and their families is the Florida State University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (FSU CARD). Director Catherine Zenko says Florida lawmakers established seven of these centers statewide.
"When we were put in statute over 35 years ago, they were very specific that they want these regional autism centers to cover the entire lifespan of citizens in Florida. So, we're over 7,000 people who are registered in 18 counties," Zenko says.
On WFSU's "Speaking Of," we heardabout efforts by the Tallahassee Police Department to improve outcomes for people with autism who interact with law enforcement.
The department recently announced its Approach With Care Autism Awareness Initiative. It includes additional training for officers, plus free decals to alert law enforcement that someone in a vehicle during a traffic stop may have autism.
Deputy Chief Jeff Mahoney was the catalyst. It started when he met a fellow dad on a park playground about eight months ago.
"I was swinging my son; he was swinging his son, and we quickly started a conversation, and we both realized that we were dealing with the same thing," Mahoney recounted at a news conference announcing the initiative. "Both of our sons are nonverbal and have autism."
Their meeting led to a proposal that Mahoney presented to Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
"It was a 'yes' right away," Mahoney said.
The other father that helped create the initiative is Shon Strickland, owner of Midtown Print, a Tallahassee printing company.
"I spend a lot of my life trying to understand how my son sees the world. It's different from how I see it, and it's wonderful," Strickland said at the news conference. "My son can't always show what he's feeling the way other people do. In a tense moment, that could be misunderstood, and that's the thing that scares parents like me."
Juming Delmas' son also has autism, and that inspired him to create the Infinite Spectrum Foundation in Tallahassee. He said the officer training component is crucial, as more people are being diagnosed.
"I think it's important that law enforcement officers – because they have to be so alert on things – to also be able to identify those signs, and I think these decals are brilliant," Delmas said.
"I think that officers are gonna really need to hone in on understanding the behavior of people on the spectrum and also understanding (how) to truly deescalate situations."
FSU CARD is helping train law enforcement. The center has long been a guiding light for people with autism, serving as a free resource covering 18 counties around the Big Bend.
"Autism is such a broad spectrum. The definition has evolved over the years. It casts a very wide net," Zenko said, noting that law enforcement often cannot tell someone has autism just by looking at them.
She said the decals can make a difference.
"If they don't know that the person has autism, watching the way that they are acting – reacting – could be misinterpreted as harmful, as aggressive, as something that justifies the use of force," Zenko said.
Officers are required to have autism training compiled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and they can take an optional eight-hour course as well, Zenko said. Other trainings include using virtual reality to interact with someone with autism, then flipping the scenario so that the officer is the person with autism.
Part of the effort includes fundraising so every officer can have sensory bags. If someone is distressed or a situation needs deescalation, these bags would include items like fidget cubes, a communication board and stress balls. Zenko saidthey plan to look for community partners to help put together 500 bags to dole out to officers.
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