Detective Creates Autism Alert Sticker To Help First Responders

DALLAS, GA — An officer in the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office has created a decal she hopes will help first responders discreetly identify people with autism so they can interact appropriately.

“The idea struck me in 2019 while I was taking the annual autism and de-escalation course” through the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, said Tiffany Bennett, a detective in the sheriff’s office.

“My idea was to create a decal that would be a visual cue so first responders would know that an autistic person either lives in a home or could be in a vehicle,” Bennett said. At the same time, she added, it had to be discreet — it couldn’t come right out and say “autism” on it.

Bennett eventually settled on the shape of a hand, signaling to a first responder that he or she should “stop and pay attention.” Each hand is multicolored, to symbolize how unique each autistic person is, and how different they are from each other. And, finally, if the hand does have a text on it, it would be something to alert the responder of specific behaviors, such as “hypersensitive,” “flight” or “non-verbal.” The decals would then be placed on a front door or a car window.

Since the decals were introduced earlier this year, said sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Ashley Henson, they’ve have gotten “great feedback” from the community, with people coming by the headquarters for decals and calls coming in from other agencies.

“We’re very proud of her,” Henson said.

For more information on obtaining decals for first responders or for yourself, email Bennett at tiffany.bennett@paulding.gov or call her at 770-443-3015.