"Thinking about my 15 year old son Michael who lives with autism and struggles with communication, watching this body cam video brought me to tears," said Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, who is Chair of the State Assembly's Sub-Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders. "It supports the significant need for two of my Autism Action bills in the State Assembly that I've been trying to get passed for several years now."

Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara is renewing his call to pass a bill in the State Assembly that would make a New York State Autism ID card available to families and individuals (A.249-C) and a companion bill that would provide the necessary training to police officers and first responders for interactions and emergency situations involving individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders (A.223).

A00223 [Relates to a training program for firefighters, police officers and emergency medical services personnel on handling emergency situations involving individuals with autism spectrum disorder] bill memo and more on legislation at http://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A00223.

A00249-C [Relates to providing for identification cards for individuals with developmental disabilities] bill memo and more on legislation at http://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A00249.

“I know how hard it is for my son to communicate, especially in a stressful situation and he often "stims" with a rubber band to manage his anxiety,” said Assemblyman Santabarbara. “Stimming” or self-stimulation involves repetitive movements those with autism may rely on to manage their anxiety in stressful situations.

"Parents that have a child with autism all want the best for them, which includes providing as much independence as possible,” Santabarbara added. “They worry every time that child steps out of their home that they may be in an emergency situation at school or may have an encounter with law enforcement as an adult. That’s the reality for many families of children living with autism,” Santabarbara said. “My legislation puts everyone on the same page by creating a state-wide form of identification that can help kids with autism communicate their disability and can help deescalate situations like this. Together with the critical training that would give officers an understanding about autism and learning to recognize things like "stimming", we can help avoid situations like this from happening here in New York.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 children are born with autism each year in the United States and more than 3.5 million Americans are living with an autism spectrum disorder. The prevalence is even higher in boys where 1 in 45 are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As more children, teens, and adults are impacted by ASD, police and other first responders could see more interactions on the future.