The Police Department is selling autism awareness patches to raise money for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
The annual program is spearheaded by Police Capt. Chris DeCarlo.
“The Police Patch Initiative strives to bring acceptance and awareness for all families within our community, and to be a source of support by funding, mentoring, educating, and collaborating with individuals, first responders, and community and school organizations,” a Facebook post from the Police Department reads.
The Patch Initiative is not the only program that the department has organized in the past for autism awareness. Lynnfield resident Susan Parziale, whose 20-year-old daughter Jenna has profound autism, has worked with the Police Department in other initiatives such as Light It Up Blue for World Autism Awareness Day by the organization Autism Speaks, where members of different police departments and families got to meet each other, as well as Coffee With a Cop.
“People could come up and talk to the police officers, talk to the firefighters, about safety with their loved ones at home that had special needs, specifically autism,” Parziale said. “So that was very, very nice. That was a great day.”
According to the Child Mind Institute, profound autism is defined as “having an IQ of less than 50 or being nonverbal or minimally verbal,” and kids with profound autism require support every day with daily tasks such as cooking, dressing up, or bathing.
“It’s basically somebody with autism that will need 24/7 care for the rest of their life,” Parziale said. “Jenna falls under that category.”
Parziale recently attended the very first Profound Autism Summit in Burlington. Parziale said that she has attended many conferences and summits on autism, but loves how the summit and the Profound Autism Alliance just focuses on those with profound autism.
“The autism that you already know, it’s a huge spectrum,” Parziale said. “It’s really wonderful that it’s just a club of the people that have either children or adult children with profound autism that do need 24/7 care.”
So far, the department has raised $145 out of its goal of $1000. People have the option to buy a patch for $10 or make a donation. All proceeds will go toward the foundation’s safety programs.
Parziale is also a volunteer for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation. According to the foundation’s website, some of its safety programs include providing caregivers with free tracking bracelets called SafetyNet that are valued at $499 and ensuring that first responders have the tools to locate people with autism who might wander and get lost.
“I am constantly screaming about SafetyNet and how I think anybody that has a child with autism that tends to elope or wander should really think about it,” Parziale said. “Don’t get me wrong, (GPS) is great but it’s not always waterproof. And it might need charging. What’s nice about SafetyNet is it’s 100% waterproof and the battery only needs to be changed twice a year.”
Another program is a conference training program for different police departments, so they can learn from experienced officers and first responders on how to enact the best practices to ensure community safety.
