#ASDPlan

Help Hurricane Harvey ASD Families

Shelley Hendrix

 Unlocking Autism is calling on all levels of political leadership and our community to assist with families and individuals with autism impacted by Hurricane Harvey and the floods.  Since Hurricane Katrina hit twelve years ago, we have worked to help our families in the aftermath of natural disasters because this is a special population with special needs. We want to ensure our families are not turned away from shelters or asked to leave as has happened in the past and left to ride out the aftermath in their cars or sheds.

The best way the community can help right now is to pass immediate recovery recommendations to political officials and to spread the word about assistance.  Unlocking Autism is collecting donations, which are tax deductible as we are a registered 501c3.  Donations collected through September 30th, 2017 will go completely to our families in need. We have no employees and no significant overhead costs.

Here is how you can help:

  1. CONTACT YOUR POLITICAL LEADERSHIP: Alert your own local political officials about the need to include special populations with regard to an #ASDPlan and ask them to do what they can to help spread the word through leadership.
  2. MAKE A DONATION: Priority right now will be to collect funds to provide families with WalMart or Amazon gift cards so they can get the items they need as fast as possible specific to the needs of their child or individual living with autism.  Those are all unique as you may imagine so this is the best thing to do at this stage of the event.  As the event continues to unfold, check back because people’s needs will change but families are scattered right now.  The time will come when we need care packages and other donations but for now this is the best way to help.  Our goal is to provide families in need with at least a $250 gift card to get started. You can make your donation here.

    If you specifically make a donation of $65.00, that will be a signal to us to order a weighted blanket for a child.  We are partnering with the same company we worked with last year to get these to comfort our community kids!

  3. FIND OUR FAMILIES: Check on families that you know in Texas and Louisiana that are in the path of the storm.  Have them register with us. We have volunteers on standby to call them and assess their need. They can register easily here.

  4. STAND READY: What we learned here in Baton Rouge last year is that there is a whole country and community of people to love one another.  Last year was clearly a dress rehearsal for this event this year.  Pray for our people. We know God tells us that He will be with us when, not if, the water comes up to our neck.  Pray for their protection and safety. Pray for their swift recovery and provision.  Stay alert for notices as they come and move when you see them.

We are a family.  We fight and we fuss and we are all stressed but our families in Texas and Louisiana need us to be there for them now.  Working together as one – in one body – we will be able to accomplish so much and be a huge blessing to families who need us today…and in the future.

All of our love,

Together we are all Unlocking Autism

#ASDPLAN – RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HURRICANE HARVEY

Shelley Hendrix

 

Serving the Autism Community during an adverse weather event and in recovery has problems that can be easily solved but would require collaborative partnerships with both government agencies and NGOs.  To address some immediate concerns as Hurricane Harvey bears down, below are steps that could be achieved quickly ahead of this storm.

  • PREFERRED PLACEMENT IN HOTELS: Instruct Emergency personnel including FEMA, Red Cross and temporary shelters (like churches) to help families living with autism to receive preferential treatment for placement in hotel rooms that are safe and quiet for the impacted family member OR in quiet, secure rooms within the sheltered area. Once our families are in a quiet place where they can prevent elopement, they are often resilient enough to begin recovery. Our community will surround and support them through this. We found that families living with autism requiring sheltering assistance were often severely impacted from a socio-economic standpoint – and will be especially at the end of the month as happened with Hurricane Katrina and will not have reserves of money to pay for hotel stays.
  • PREFERRED TYPE OF HOTEL ROOM: It is helpful, if at all possible, to locate them in hotels with micro-kitchens as their children/individuals often have specific dietary requirements and providing stability in that area will further help these families maintain a semblance of peace in the aftermath to improve recovery efforts.
  • HELPFUL ITEMS FOR SHELTERS: Louisiana Dept of Child and Family Services has a stockpile of weighted blankets and noise canceling headphones. Encourage collaborative efforts between these two states to share these precious resources to help calm individuals in shelters.  Our organization is already working with the suppliers we had last year to increase production so we can help the children in Texas.
  • COLLABORATION BETWEEN RECOVERY OFFICIALS & LOCAL AUTISM COMMUNITY GROUPS: We are developing a list of groups local to each state that would be willing to help identify families and also help assist them afterwards through their special recovery process.
  • EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL BRIEFING: Rescue and recovery officials should be briefed on this specific population and their potential behaviors. When possible, allow family members to assist with evacuating these individuals from homes/cars because they know how to best motivate them, help them feel safe and communicate effectively.
  • SPECIAL HAZARDS FOR THIS POPULATION: Officials should be aware that children and individuals with autism are drawn to water, which almost always leads to drowning deaths. Families, shelter officials and emergency responders should be alert for elopement as distraction from the individual’s caregiver is imminent.  Individuals with autism also often do not respond to verbal commands or to their names being called and can be aggressive.  Being prepared for this ahead of time will help emergency responders work more quickly.

Thank you for taking care of our special families!  

President Trump – About Disasters & Autism

Shelley Hendrix

August 28, 2017
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

RE: Hurricane Harvey & the Autism Community

Dear President Trump:

We thank you all for what you do every day to help run our country. We know it is a huge job and people don’t often return with thanks. We are grateful that you listen to your people beyond the beltway.

Last year, when you came to Louisiana to survey damage from our historic flooding here in Baton Rouge, I met you at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church. I spoke with Vice President Pence for several minutes to discuss our very specific concerns regarding the unique disaster rescue and recovery needs of our special needs populations – whether they are children or adults with autism or individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Louisiana’s Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser was with you that day and has come to know us as well.

     

Our families living with autism were repeatedly turned away, or ejected, from shelters due to adverse behaviors exhibited by their children. One of the largest shelters told me personally, “We do not take people like that.” They were living in cars and sheds because it was more manageable than trying to care for their children living with autism in a large congregational setting. This put the children directly in harm’s way but alternatives were scarce.

Unlocking Autism stepped out in faith, raised money, found our families, and helped them find stabilized shelter. Then, we cared for them until they were back on their feet. We learned valuable lessons that your administration may need in the recovery efforts. Here is a video to explain our families stories.

I appeal to you to help provide our autism community in Texas with top down direction for simple steps that will improve their recovery efforts. The need is massive. Each Congressional district impacted could have as many as 3200 children under the age of 21 with autism, which leaves a huge number of our people, at least 64,000 families, in an even more difficult situation.

This may 15 times what we witnessed with our families in South Louisiana. Our organization will not be able to handle it alone, but we stand ready to help hold their hands.

Congregational shelters, whether open to anyone or segregated for special medical needs, are incredibly difficult for our specific population to navigate. Families already suffering from PTSD stress levels and no sleep are further traumatized at times like this making wandering and other adverse behaviors worse and more dangerous. No one likes congregational shelters, but they are overwhelmingly difficult for our families and for other shelter residents.

This is a problem that can be easily solved, but requires a partnership with leadership and groups familiar with this unique circumstance. Enclosed are some suggested steps that could be taken, and if these can be achieved, our group will make every effort to disseminate appropriate information to TX and LA residents, and collaborating autism NGOs, to help with the recovery process.

On Friday, August 25th, this information was sent to the Texas Congressional delegation, the Governor of Texas, the Louisiana Secretary of Department of Child & Family Services (who helped us so much last year) and my Congressman – Congressman Garret Graves (LA-6) – to try to get ahead of the storm. Last year, Congressman Graves and his wife came to my house to learn more about how we were helping our special families. He invited me to attend a dinner with several Congressmen, including Congressman Brian Babin (TX-36) – whose district is now impacted by Harvey – so that everyone could learn of our experiences and no community would forget the least of these when, not if, this happened again.

Last year was apparently a dress rehearsal.

We will always encourage our families to seek shelter with other family members or friends first wherever natural support are available. This request is specifically designed for those families who have no other alternatives and we can help shelters establish screening protocols to prevent people who would have other resources available to them from taking advantage of a hotel stay that another family would need.

Unlocking Autism has worked with hundreds of families across the country living with autism over the last 12 years through the rescue/recovery process following natural disasters since Hurricane Katrina sounded the alarm for us. Our immediate hope, and primary concern, is to help our families get out of harm’s way so they don’t have to live in their vehicles or sheds in their backyard until their homes can be repaired like our families had to do here last year.

Here are some things the government can do to help our families living with autism – quickly.

I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. While we didn’t know when we met you and Vice President Pence last year that this storm would bear down on our country, God did. He prepared us for such a time as this. Bad things happen in this broken world, but He positions people to be able to safeguard against them and take care of His children.

Please do not let our people with autism fall through the cracks of recovery efforts. He has given us an opportunity to learn from the mistakes on such a wide scale way that it hopefully this become part of the permanent protocol. With one in 68 children diagnosed, it must be.

God has also given our country the opportunity to truly be our brother’s keeper. Apathy is as bad as hate and it is hard to understand this level of devastation without experiencing it personally. Racial division and socio-economic disparity dissolve in flood waters which equalize everything and everyone. Help this country hold onto the love and compassion they feel right now and turn in repentance to both God and their fellow man.

Thank you for your consideration and for everything you do every day to lead us and protect us.

We stand ready.

With kindest regards,

Shelley Hendrix
Unlocking Autism/President