Mini-series: Keep your family member with special needs safe

January 29, 2016Safety Mini-seriesBy Sarah Hansen

This mini-series of blog posts will provide helpful information to help you keep your family member with special needs safe. We’ll cover how to “flag” your home address so first responders receive critical information about your home and family members before arriving at the scene of an emergency. We will lay out options for preventing emergencies caused by elopement, such as tracking and emergency response systems. We’ll outline the steps counties and the state government in Maryland are taking related to law enforcement training, judicial reforms, and self-advocacy to make our communities inclusive and safe for everyone. And we’ll discuss various mobile apps that can provide information to first responders on the spot. By providing these resources, HIA hopes to empower families to prepare for emergencies and protect the safety of their loved ones with autism or other special needs.

First post coming soon!

About the author

Sarah Hansen

Sarah Hansen is the Communications Associate at the Hussman Institute for Autism. She works to share the Institute's research and programs with families, educators, and anyone else interested in learning more about how to support individuals with autism. She holds a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Master of Arts in Teaching and Bachelor of Science degrees from Cornell University. Before joining the Hussman Institute, she taught middle and upper school science at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, MD.

Progress in Maryland: Policy changes that support safety and inclusion
February 22, 2016

Safety mobile apps for your special needs family member
February 15, 2016

Tracking systems to keep your family member safe
February 8, 2016

Flag your address to help first responders help your loved one
February 1, 2016

“The soul must be loved as it is.”

Jamie Burke
“Autism awareness can’t stop with a list of what makes people with autism different from us. Because what is essential is the constant awareness of what makes us the same.”

John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Director
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“We agree with the view that presuming competence is the least dangerous assumption.”

John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Director
“Autism is not disability.”

Jamie Burke
“We are just like you, with the same desires, and just need help to be typical members of society.”

Sue Rubin
“In the end, the best argument for inclusion is the simplest. It’s the one we know by heart – that all of us are created equal.”

John P. Hussman, Ph.D., Director