Harris County Texas Sheriff's Department Honors and Helps People With Autism
Michelle Guppy shared this terrific story from the Harris County, Texas Sheriff's Department on Facebook yesterday. Readers know Michelle from her blog From Hell to Hopeism, where she chronicles life with her adult son Brandon.
A Message from Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
During the month of April, hundreds of our sworn personnel will proudly wear a commemorative blue badge on their uniform that prominently features the autism awareness puzzle piece to bring attention to Autism Spectrum Disorder and to support those living with it.
We are in our communities across Harris County every day, and this is a small way to send a big message: We’re here to serve all residents with compassion and understanding.
The distinctive light blue badge with the puzzle piece emblem and engraved words “Help Create a Kinder World” reinforces our promise to do all we can to improve our interactions with residents, including those with a developmental disability or those experiencing a mental health or emotional crisis. It serves as a reminder to residents of what we can accomplish together.
This is the first year of the Blue Badges for Autism Awareness program and the Sheriff’s Office ordered 734 commemorative badges, more than any other law enforcement agency in the nation!
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 54 children has autism. Just this year, deputies responded to more than 1,370 calls for service with a mental health component. Many of those calls involved a person with autism.
Last fall, we launched a new initiative called Project Guardian to help our deputies minimize stress by alerting them in advance that they’re about to interact with a person on the autism spectrum.
The initiative is one of many innovative mental health and outreach programs supporting our patrol deputies and making our neighborhoods better places to live.
A simple interaction with law enforcement could be a traumatic situation for a person with autism. Project Guardian encourages families or caregivers to provide a photo of their loved one and their interests or characteristics, such as whether the person is sensitive to loud noises or finds bright lights upsetting.
The online registry is free and equips deputies with critical information on a person’s special needs and proven calming methods. Families are also given a Project Guardian decal to display on a front window to quickly alert deputies someone is enrolled in the program.
That's making a good start with it !
Can it be described as a communication disability? or a communication difficulty ? With a difficulty being a lack of opportunity /access, to learn new communication skills and abilities!
The Silent Child - YouTube
Oscar Winning Short Film Rachael Felding Slick Films
Posted by: Morag | April 05, 2021 at 05:04 AM
Good that police are being trained, people with disabilities make up a disproportionate number of people killed by police. Despite being something like 1/2 % of the population as a whole black and native american males with mental illness, developmental disabilities or both make up something like 20% of those killed by the police in brutality incidents.
Posted by: Bill | April 02, 2021 at 08:57 PM
Blessings this Good Friday for all those who have given their only Son’s or Daughter’s to Autism.
Someday we will all be together in God’s Kingdom they way it was meant to be.
Posted by: Still with Trump | April 02, 2021 at 08:30 PM
Very appreciative of the Sheriff's issuing commemorative blue badges featuring autism awareness puzzle piece to his officers to show support for those living with it.
It's been 21 years for our grandson .. nonverbal .. a young man now .. and it is extremely frustrating to witness the FAILURE/INDIFFERENCE of public health agencies .. after TWO DECADES … to IDENTIFY WHAT IS CAUSING 1 IN 35 CHILDREN TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM. While I greatly appreciate the effort to create AUTISM AWARENESS … it falls far short of publicly IDENTIFYING AUTISM FOR THE EPIDEMIC IT HAS BECOME.
Posted by: Bob Moffit | April 02, 2021 at 01:09 PM
Hope that parents can also remember to tell if their child has a problem with certain sounds. I once sat observing in the classroom of my four year old grandson (in California) and I noticed a tall, large- headed boy who stayed aloof consistently. At one point the teacher took her guitar and the kids sat around to sing. After 4-5 songs, the tall boy at last came over to hang on the edge of the group. Unfortunately at that point the teacher began a song with very high notes and the tall boy turned tail and raced away. The teacher seemed to be oblivious as to why he ran off. Years later, I observed concerts at mygrand sons primary school and found that the autistic kids were made to stand at one side, or even in front with the idea that they were being included ! A much appreciated sentiment , but some of the kids were clearly in agony with the notes. And this was a school that devoted four rooms to the special kids ! and had teachers trained in special ed. Interesting also that parents had not expressed the sentiment to the school that they would prefer that their child not be tortured ! Perhaps they too were unaware. - cherry misra, New Delhi
Posted by: Cherry Misra | April 02, 2021 at 08:52 AM
The blues here in Scotland get a different reception-don't worry were with you Jordan Jones..
Rangers’ Jordan Jones criticised by health experts after sharing anti-vax posts
A RANGERS player has been criticised by public health experts after sharing online posts from vaccine sceptics.
In the past fortnight, he has shared posts on his Twitter page from Covid-sceptics claiming people are being “coerced” into receiving “experimental” vaccines. The footballer’s page has more than 50,000 followers.
One is from diet and health writer Zoe Harcombe, who has consistently complained about lockdown to her more than 80,000 Twitter followers.
In a post from March 23, which was shared by Jones, she wrote: “If the vaccine works, why will the UK experience a third wave? If the vaccine doesn’t work, why is everyone being coerced into having it? Am I missing something?”
Jones, 26, also retweeted a post on March 29 from a Twitter user called Obi. It states: “They doing vaccine passports with an experimental vaccine … Where is the outrage?”
https://scottishdailypost.co.uk/rangers-jordan-jones-criticised-by-health-experts-after-sharing-anti-vax-posts/
Pharma For Prison
MMR RIP
Posted by: angus files | April 02, 2021 at 07:39 AM
This may be the first blue-themed April thing that has ever made me want to cheer. Hats off to the Harris County sheriff for recognizing the people in his community with special needs and doing something to train his officers to do a better job handling potentially difficult situations.
Posted by: TOB | April 02, 2021 at 06:20 AM