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Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, Miami-Dade Police Director Stephanie V. Daniels and other officials launched the Occupant with Autism Decal Program in Miami-Dade on Tuesday, Apr. 2, to kick off Autism Acceptance Month.
A parent of two neurodivergent young adults, Commissioner Regalado sponsored a resolution creating the program to improve how emergency situations involving persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are handled.
“I’ve been on a mission to make Miami-Dade a safer, more inclusive place for our residents of all abilities,” Commissioner Regalado said. “I couldn’t be prouder of this partnership with our top-notch police department. We’ve spent the past three years training our police officers to handle situations involving people on the spectrum and now we’re bringing the community into that conversation. It’s a huge leap forward for local law enforcement.”
The aim of the decal program is to alert police officers that someone living with autism may be inside a home or vehicle.
“This decal program is a testament to the continued efforts of the Miami-Dade Police Department to meet the needs of our community. Collaborating with our community leaders we can create awareness and educate our residents and officers,” Daniels said.
“The new Autism Decal Program will alert police officers that someone with autism is inside of a home or vehicle prior to making contact. This will allow our officers to draw on their autism training during their interactions with persons with ASD.”
The Occupant with Autism Decal Program is the second part of a massive training effort of police and other county departments that began in 2021 through a partnership with the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD).
As part of legislation sponsored by Commissioner Regalado, UM-NSU CARD has trained more than 2,100 police officers and 138 firefighters, including best practices for on-site scene crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques when interacting with persons with ASD. According to UM-NSU CARD, there are at least 50,000 persons with ASD in Miami-Dade alone.
A retired law enforcement commander and father of an adult with autism, Bart Barta, of Autism 101 Inc., is in charge of training Miami-Dade police officers and firefighters as a result of the partnership between the county and CARD. His training focuses on teaching police officers and first responders how to recognize persons with autism, how to respond to them, and how to manage the risks involving individuals with autism.
“The first responders who have taken the training have overwhelmingly responded positively. Some first responders will contact me later to tell me about an encounter that they had with an autistic citizen and how the training benefited them greatly,” Barta said.
“This program will tremendously benefit first responders and autistic citizens. The more information a first responder has about the person they are interacting with, the greater the chances for a successful outcome for all involved.”
The decal program provides two free decals to families of persons with autism. The decals can be picked up at Miami-Dade Police stations.
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