BVC: Those with disabilities deserve 'dignity of risk'

FINDLAY — Roughly 10% of Hancock County residents with disabilities who receive services from the Blanchard Valley Center hold a driver's license, Nicole Bowen, the center's director of service and support administrators, said. Interactions with law enforcement can be stressful for anyone, but may be especially challenging for people with disabilities including autism, anxiety disorders or hearing impairments. To support safer interactions, BVC has partnered with the Findlay Police, The Hancock County Sheriff's Office and The Ohio State Highway Patrol to train new officers on communicating with people who have disabilities. Agencies have also received communication tools to assist individuals who may have limited hearing or speech. The Blanchard Valley Center supports roughly 900 Hancock County residents annually. "It's more than people anticipate," Bowen said. "I think sometimes people tend to lean into thinking that people with disabilities can't live on their own, can't drive, are unemployed." This belief is simply not true, she said. According to her, individuals with developmental disabilities can live independently and can be contributing members of society. People with disabilities deserve the "dignity of risk," or the idea that individuals should have the opportunity to make their own choices and live independently, said Nadine Weininger, director of finance and public relations at the Blanchard Valley Center. Bowen said education for both law enforcement and individuals with disabilities must be individualized and person-centered when interacting, a responsibility she takes seriously. Each person who receives services from BVC is paired with a service and support administrator, who helps them plan for how to disclose a disability to law enforcement, who to call if they need help and how to ask for accommodations. "We try to equip them from the place they are coming from," she said. "It's not a cookie-cutter approach. What are your needs and how can we meet them?" Both Bowen and Weininger believe local agencies are receptive to utilizing the resources, though remembering them in high-stress situations can be a challenge. "They want the help," Bowen said. "They want to better support people in the community." Bowen said BVC revisits the training annually and regularly implements improvements to better serve the community. "How can we do something different to keep that momentum on how we can always better support people with disabilities?" she said. Ohio has recently adopted the Blue Envelope program, first launched in Connecticut in 2020, to improve communication during traffic stops. Drivers with disabilities can store their license, registration and insurance documents in a blue envelope that signals to officers that accommodations may be needed. A vehicle sticker is also available to alert first responders that a driver or passenger may have a disability affecting speech or behavior. The packets are free to anyone with a developmental disability and can be requested through county boards of developmental disabilities statewide. Findlay Police Lt. Brooks Deidrick said his patrol officers have adequate resources to assist in interactions but that these tools can always be better. Findlay officers are provided with dry erase boards, pictures, sensory tools and other communication tools in each cruiser. "At the end of the day, the resources we have available to us are just tools to help enhance the core skills our officers have," he said. Both Findlay Police officers and Hancock County Sheriff's Office deputies are trained in crisis intervention, which teaches law enforcement to interact with a wide variety of individuals, including those on the autism spectrum or with other disabilities that may affect their interactions with law enforcement. Deidrick believes there will always be gaps but that the "Findlay Police Department has taken a positive stance on providing our officers with the tools and resources necessary to have smooth and productive outcomes." When speaking with other first responders like the Findlay Fire Department about interacting with individuals with disabilities, Weininger said they understand the importance of good communication but that sensory needs aren't exactly the priority when lives are on the line. She said they told her their first job when responding to an emergency, especially a fire, is to get people to safety. "'If the building is burning, I don't care who you are, what you're doing or what your disability is, I'm going in, getting you and getting you out,'" she said. "'We're going to go in and save your life because that's the job…' Okay, training over," Weininger joked. Police may have a tougher job. In the event of a fire or other emergency, the responsibility of helping to calm individuals with disabilities may fall to law enforcement officers. Bowen said one of the most important lessons she teaches program users is to tell officers they use the program but not to reach for the envelope before the officer approaches. She also teaches that it may be best to keep the envelope in the sun visor so it is easily accessible when needed. BVC also utilizes emergency profiles for people receiving support. Information including their name, photo, emergency contact and best practices when interacting are uploaded directly to the 911 system. "If we know somebody has a high risk of eloping or they tend to have encounters with law enforcement, we really try to focus on updating these profiles to make those encounters more pleasant for everyone involved." These profiles help first responders quickly identify someone who elopes or is nonverbal. On the other side of the window, BVC teaches law enforcement officers that it may be best to turn their radios down, and turn their lights and sirens off when it is safe to do so to reduce overstimulation. It's also important that they don't use slang and don't ask leading questions that may be difficult to understand. If an officer wants to ask if someone is driving while intoxicated, they should not ask these individuals if they have been drinking. A person with autism may not understand the question and may think the officer is asking if they have been drinking water or another non-alcoholic beverage. In these cases, it could be better to ask the question more directly. Bowen teaches officers from local agencies that individuals with disabilities can seem impaired when they're not and may agree to something simply because they are nervous. She teaches BVC clients that it is acceptable to ask officers to call a support person. BVC has an on-call SSA available or they can call a parent or a guardian to assist. Weininger said officers should give individuals time to process the interaction. She calls it the "power of the pause" or "giving them five minutes to circle back" if they need more time to understand or respond. Education needs to be individualized but the goal is simple: safer, calmer interactions for everyone involved. They said the work is ongoing but the partnerships they've built with local agencies and the willingness of officers to learn give them confidence. "We're inching closer and closer," Bowen said. "We're getting their buy-in." Weininger said the progress reflects a shared commitment to community safety. "I don't ever want to hear of a situation where someone's injured because all they needed was some education," she said. "If we can help prevent that, that's what this is all about." Bowen agreed. "They want to know how they can best help themselves in these situations but also help the person," she said. As BVC continues expanding its training, updating emergency profiles and offering client services, Bowen and Weininger said the mission has always been to ensure people with disabilities can navigate their communities independently with confidence.