Dear Ms. Marshall,
Thank you for your recent article discussing the new initiative in Oklahoma to add autism identifiers on state-issued IDs. You are spot on when you indicate that law enforcement officials need tools to identify and communicate with individuals with autism safely and effectively.
Given the growing rate of autism in the United States, and the number of autistic people that are or will be motor vehicle operators, it is imperative that police officers have adequate training to communicate with this population safely. In the news today, there are all too many videos depicting negative, and at times dangerous, interactions between police officers and autistic people. These interactions have significant impacts on both the autism community (i.e., cultivating apprehension and fear) and law enforcement (i.e., feelings of unpreparedness or lack of training). The addition of tools such as autism designators on IDs could be a great start to mitigating these negative interactions and fostering a more understanding relationship between the two communities.
Although there are potential benefits of this proposed Bill for the autism and law enforcement communities, we agree that the ‘autism designator’ should be voluntary. Individuals should always be provided with the right to decide whether to share their personal health information with others.
At the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, we have articles with resources for law enforcement and other first responders that may be of interest to your readers:
While there are now more trainings available to police officers about how to interact with individuals in the autism spectrum safely and effectively, this new Bill to instate autism designators on IDs could be a helpful preventative measure to promote both protection and awareness. However, it is important to remember that this designation should be voluntary to protect the rights and choices of individuals with autism.
Thank you for your contribution to sharing information about autism-related public policies!
Sincerely,
Kristina Mira, M.Ed.
Erin Leif, PhD, BCBA-D
