Calling all jewelry designers: Help protect children with autism

Houston-area jewelry designers: Are you up to saving a life?

That's the task put before you by the founders of Gabriel's Horn Foundation, who are searching nationwide for the right person or business to create a line of bracelets, necklaces and other accessories that children with autism would be proud and comfortable wearing - and that would readily identify them to law enforcement. The goal, the Houston-based nonprofit's leaders say, is to minimize misunderstandings and prevent wrongful arrests.

The project has captured the interest of comic actor and commentator D.L. Hughley, whose son Kyle has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. Hughley will join Grammy Award-winning R&B producer Terry Lewis and nonprofit Artists for Autism for a public benefit concert Labor Day weekend in Los Angeles, at which prototypes of the jewelry will be unveiled.

With a host of communication and sensory issues, autism has the potential to create tense situations. Law enforcement officers may be uncomfortable with or misinterpret a person not responding to questions or instructions as they'd expect, Gabriel's Horn co-founder Ahmad Islam says. A piece of jewelry identifying autism spectrum disorder could quickly show "they're not being disrespectful. They may be slower to react, or they may walk up on you to listen to you better," he says.

"The fear of my son having a misunderstanding with police rocks me to my core every single day," says Debra Islam, who founded Gabriel's Horn with her husband out of frustration over a delayed autism diagnosis for their son, Gabriel, now 14, when they lived in Chicago. With her background in early childhood development and his in marketing, the Islams promote earlier diagnosis and intervention for minority children, who often lag their white peers in those areas by years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Islams say they will seek input on the jewelry pieces from families and health care providers. Once they find the right look, they hope to involve health insurance companies to "get the jewelry out there," Ahmad says.

The project's success also will hinge on phase 2: introducing the line via training videos to be made with input from autism experts for use at police academies and in agencies' continuing education sessions. The goal is to be in as many markets as possible by 2018, according to Islam, the CEO of Ten35, which specializes in multicultural audiences.

"We see this as flexible and dynamic. It will evolve," he says, noting that the jewelry pieces will need to change as children grow into adults.

The issue is increasingly on the radar. Last month, a former police officer in Florida who has a child with autism released the AutismTalk app. It gives first responders picture-based tools to communicate with people who are nonverbal or have trouble speaking. The app is based on her Autism Law Enforcement Response Training (ALERT) program.

Frank Straub applauds the Islams' effort. The director of strategic studies at the Police Foundation, an independent, national organization providing resources to improve policing, calls learning to interact with the mentally and developmentally disabled a top priority.

"It could be incredibly important to have a piece of jewelry to identify someone who's challenged by autism," Straub says, comparing such an item to a medical alert bracelet. "It very realistically could be a lifesaver."

Straub, a former Spokane, Wash., police chief who specializes in critical incidents and crisis intervention, welcomes tools that prepare officers to use different skill sets. For example, if an autistic child isn't talking, an officer might wonder, "Is he deaf? This would at least be a place to start. Instead of talking loud ... maybe don't crowd this child, don't shine a flashlight. ... The more knowledge first responders have, the more effective they can be."

Locally, Maj. Mike Lee of the Harris County Sheriff's Office of Mental Health Policy & Jail Diversion says the project could be "extremely beneficial for assisting officers." He could see a jewelry component being implemented in "academy classes, department bulletins and informational brochures at station roll calls."

The timing of its rollout could prove quite good; a new initiative by Sheriff Ed Gonzalez expands mental health training, including a unit on autism, for all patrol and detention cadets and deputies to 40 hours a year. (The state mandate for patrol deputies is 16, Lee says).

"Traditionally, officers and deputies are taught to be very authoritative, physical and commanding," Lee says. "In (crisis intervention training), they are taught the opposite." Spotting such a piece of jewelry would help Harris County deputies apply the strategies they learn, Lee says. Among them: modeling calmness, asking about special interests, being patient, giving plenty of space and not taking a lack of eye contact or nervousness as a sign of guilt.

The concert promoting the jewelry line is partly the brainchild of Charles Alexander, who formed Artists for Autism with Lewis to address "the social justice issues impacting all children with autism." The businessman says he at first went through the denial many African-American men feel about mental health and disability issues when doctors diagnosed autism in his son, Xavier.

"It can be extremely harmful when autism is left undiagnosed. Those children who grow up without treatment can often be the target of police abuse," he says.

Alexander has high hopes for the Artists for Autism concert. "Music is a unifying force," he says. "It draws people together no matter their race, creed, nationality or religion."

And the Islams hope the jewelry project will protect children including Gabriel, who draws stick-figure Marvel characters. Debra Islam says Gabriel is in no hurry to grow up. He insists on being called a "teenage kid, not a teenager."

Then her eyes well with tears. Race magnifies this mother's fears "about 10,000 times."

"He's just a little black boy who's minding his business, and that doesn't guarantee him safety," she says.

Islam has instructed her son to say to those in authority, "My name is Gabriel, and I have autism.

"That's great - if you get a chance to speak," she says. "I know it's 2017; we can't make them wear a big blue 'A.' "

For children with autism, this project may say it for them.