Aiding autistic drivers with police interactions

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Among many bills signed into law this month, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the Blue Envelope Bill, which is designed to help drivers with autism during any encounters with police officers. The bill gives anyone on the autism spectrum a chance to communicate with officers about their diagnosis.

"If you're pulled over or have an interaction with law enforcement, you just hand them that envelope and it'll contain some standard language on it, explaining that this individual has autism, and obviously that will change how the law enforcement officer approaches it," Scott Hardin with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) said.

Arkansas is the 7th state to issue this law and the first out of the Southern states. Ludwik Kozlowski Jr., who is the vice chair of the Governor's Council of Developmental Disabilities, explains why this is so beneficial for those on the spectrum.
"This does several things that will help deescalate situations because when you're on the autism spectrum, which I am, you can get really overwhelmed and forget things," Kozlowski said. "You could start flapping your arms, which, if it's someone else who may not be on the spectrum, cops may misread or misunderstand. And then we take things very black and white."

Kozlowski hopes the law will skirt some avoidable and possibly harmful interactions in an effort to protect drivers.

"Every now and then, you hear about stories where actual individuals on the spectrum are tased, or there are incidents that happened where people got hurt that was unnecessary, that shouldn't have happened," Kozlowski said. "If we have something like this, that could be very helpful to have that discussion and that understanding there, so that the communications there, the understandings there, and things don't go sideways."

The blue envelope will be free for anyone who needs it.

Kozlowski wants to remind everyone to treat those with autism with the same respect you'd treat anyone else.

"It's important to know when you're dealing with individuals on the autism spectrum no different anywhere else, you just think of the world a little bit differently. So it's important to never just judge a book by its cover, to always treat people as they want to be treated," he said.

New Jersey residents on the autism spectrum can soon apply for a designation on their driver's license or ID to help them with interactions with police.

The notation will appear as the number 5 in the "Restrictions" section of an ID.

They'll also be issued a Motor Vehicle Commission "pink card" describing their diagnosis, which must be carried with the license or ID card.

"So law enforcement, when they interact with them, they know how to treat them with respect and make sure that everyone can be treated safely," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

The card includes a designation section, with boxes to check such as "autism spectrum," "communication disorder" and "disorder hearing aid." It also has a restriction section, with boxes such as "hearing impaired," "mechanical aid," "prosthetic aid" and more.

Anyone interested in having the code placed on their license will need six points of identification, as well as a formal statement from a guardian or themselves about their diagnosis.

Being pulled over by law enforcement can be stressful for anyone, but for a person with autism, advocates say, it can be overwhelming.

"It may be difficult for you to let someone know what that disorder is or that you need communication accommodations, and so often that could be misinterpreted by law enforcement as someone who is uncooperative," Human Services Secretary Commissioner Sarah Adelman said.

Tim Barlow's 23-year-old son has autism and was pulled over by police when he was younger.

"He was very nervous. Thankfully the officer who stopped him was able to pick up on some of the things that my son was doing or how he was speaking, and he reached out to me to see if my son was on the spectrum, and I was able to confirm that," Barlow said.

Autism New Jersey's executive director says the new code is crucial, describing another real-life situation of a man with autism being asked to drive out of traffic to a parking lot.

"He was realizing in that moment that the officer was asking him to drive into that parking lot without his license, but he was following the rule that he needed to have his license on him in order to drive," Autism New Jersey Executive Director Suzanne Buchanan said.