DPS receives sensory kits from local pastor

Truman State University Department of Public Safety received two sensory kits to assist with communicating with people with disabilities on Aug. 18. Pastor Tim Polley of Kirksville First Christian Church donated the kits to help DPS patrol officers communicate with individuals on the autism spectrum. 

Polley said he purchased the kit from the Autism Hero Project. He said he raised funds for the kits through the Mary Blauvelt Autism Sensory Kit Program for First Responders, a program he founded and named after his mother. Polley said his late mother helped raised his son, who is on the autism spectrum. He said he wants officers to have the tools to effectively communicate with disabled people.

Chad Gooch, head of the Department of Public Safety, said the kits will be in the two patrol vehicles. He said the kits will be easily accessible to officers in a situation where they need it.

“For us, it was an ability that might prepare us to communicate, to deescalate any situation that may be an emergency situation, for those that might be having difficulty communicating,” Gooch said. “It would just hopefully allow us to perform better. It is not going to solve all communication issues, but it might assist us in some of those incidents…If anything, we can create a connection with some people and build a rapport.”

Polley said in his first project, he provided 16 kits to first responder agencies and the Kirksville emergency room. He has since ordered six more kits to donate to departments that neighbor Adair County.

Polley said he was inspired to send out kits after reading a news story of a police department in Niles, Illinois that provided sensory kits to their officers. Polley said he hopes the kits help reduce stressful situations. 

“There are too many situations with somebody on the spectrum that has sensory issues that turns into a violent encounter that doesn’t need to be that way,” Polley said. “It’s because they’re not approached the right way, and this is where these kits come in handy …When somebody doesn’t know how to respond to somebody or is somebody who’s having a sensory issue, the first thing they do is they call first responders. When law enforcement gets there, they have to try to control the person, and it ends up in a bad situation.”

Both Gooch and Polley said they are discussing implementing the Blue Envelope Program. The program’s initiative is to make interactions between law enforcement and people who have difficulty communicating less stressful. Polley said all relevant documents are put in an envelope with information about their disabilities and communication needs that can be handed to a law enforcement officer. 

Polley said he wants to continue donating kits to departments. He said his donations are the first from the Autism Hero Project used in Missouri.