Niles Police Department's new sensory kits help officers interact safely with people on autism spectrum
It's the law in Illinois that all law enforcement officers complete training on how to interact with people on the autism spectrum.
The Niles Police Department is taking it a step further.
A nonverbal man with autism wandering the streets of Niles last month was met by a police officer who reached for her newly issued sensory kit to help calm the man, build trust and ultimately reunite him with his caregivers.
Police officer Jessica Zia was on patrol late last month when a call came in for a suspicious person walking on the side of the road.
"He was pacing back and forth, stopped and looked confused," she said.
Officer Zia asked a series of questions to try and identify the man and get him home. She quickly realized he was nonverbal and the call would be different than most. That's when she went into her trunk and grabbed her newly issued autism sensory kit.
The kit is filled with toys, sensory devices, and objects—all tools designed to bridge the communication gap during emergencies.
"I knew I had to think outside the box. I was like, 'How am I going to handle this?" she said. "My end goal was to get him home. It was really hot that day."
"We saw so many families and so many in the autism community who were so fearful to contact law enforcement if a situation came up with their child," said Tamika Lechéé Morales.
Morales, who is the president of the Autism Hero Project, says along with communication, the kits also reduce stress and have the potential for safer outcomes.
"For autistic individuals who elope or wander, drowning and traffic-related incidents are among the leading causes of fatal outcomes," she said.
Niles police social worker Tony Bertram says every squad car was recently equipped with one of the Autism Hero Project sensory kits.
"Officer Zia used it on the street for the first time 20 days after we received the kits," he said. "She figured out there was a nonverbal situation, there was overstimulation and she applied the correct tools from the bag with very little training."
Zia sat patiently with the man for about an hour and determined the 25-year-old walked more than six miles from a group home in Chicago. He was taken to a hospital for observation and released.
"If I can be honest with you, I rather have that call than any other call that I could gloat about catching a bad guy," she said. "My job is to help."
Just days before officer Zia encountered the young man on the road, another Niles police officer had a similar encounter. Officer Zia was able to contact his mom and social worker.
