LINKED was created by Ashley McClain who is the mother of an autistic child. The program builds a relationship between emergency responders and the members of the Autism and special needs community. This project was created as a collaborative effort with a network of public safety professionals, autism professionals and autism parents.
Caregivers of the East Haven Autism and special needs community can register by following the Instructions at the bottom of this page.
Upon completing the registration form, this information will be made available to first responders with important individualized information about the person with autism and within the special needs community. This will allow the responder to create a pre-arrival plan to best assist those within the community. All registrations are secure and confidential and used only for the response of East Haven first responders.
Each family that registers for the LINKED program will receive a Family Emergency Planning Folder with individualized instructions and a guide that includes tips and tools to navigate this program in a emergency situation. Additionally, the Family Emergency Planning Folders provide an emergency preparedness social story, created by professionals, which is a personalized learning tool containing text and illustration that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people within the special needs community of all ages.
Patrol vehicles are equipped with sensory kits which contains a variety of sensory products recommended by professionals in the field. To accompany the sensory kits, LINKED - Autism Safety Project has provided Emergency Picture Exchange Communication System, which is a picture communication tool for non-verbal residents developed by professionals to assist in the dialogue between the individual and emergency responders.
The East Haven Police Department is committed to the Autism and special needs community and developing best practices and increasing the quality of services to all our residents. We will continue to provide training to our officers and are always seeking new, innovative platforms to enhance our services to the community.
This program is FREE and available to all East Haven residents.
There are 3 ways to sign up for this FREE program:
- Submit your registration online by [clicking here].
- Print a registration form by [clicking here] and dropping it off to the East Haven Police Department.
- In person at the East Haven Police Department – A hardcopy application will be provided to you.