Safety
Smart 911
With Smart 911 you can associate information with a phone number so that when that phone number dials 911, important information is relayed to the 911 dispatcher immediately. When you call 911 from the registered phone number, the profile you set up displays on the 911 dispatcher’s screen and the dispatcher can view address, medical information, home information, and emergency contact. Individuals enter as much or as little information as they want. It is a national service.
With Smart 911 you can associate information with a phone number so that when that phone number dials 911, important information is relayed to the 911 dispatcher immediately. When you call 911 from the registered phone number, the profile you set up displays on the 911 dispatcher’s screen and the dispatcher can view address, medical information, home information, and emergency contact. Individuals enter as much or as little information as they want. It is a national service.
Yellow Dot Program
This program assists citizens in the "golden hour" of emergency care following a traffic crash when they may not be able to communicate their needs themselves. Placing a Yellow Dot decal in your vehicle's rear window alerts first responders to check your glove compartment for vital information to ensure you receive the medical attention you need. The program is a cooperative effort between PennDOT, the state departments of Health and Aging, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, first responders, and local law enforcement.
This program assists citizens in the "golden hour" of emergency care following a traffic crash when they may not be able to communicate their needs themselves. Placing a Yellow Dot decal in your vehicle's rear window alerts first responders to check your glove compartment for vital information to ensure you receive the medical attention you need. The program is a cooperative effort between PennDOT, the state departments of Health and Aging, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, first responders, and local law enforcement.
In the age of the social media and the Internet, what do people with developmental disabilities need to stay safe?
Here are eight tips to use with people with disabilities to help them stay safe.
1. Begin by helping people with disabilities explore the positives and negatives of technology. Ask: “What do you like about texting people and using the Internet to contact friends and family?” “What are some of the negatives things that can happen with technology?”
2. Remind people with disabilities that everything that he or she post or text is PUBLIC. Topics that are okay to post and text are greetings, weather, work, school, public events, and personal information that is on your mind. For example, my cousin just got married.
3. Remind people that before posting or texting words or photos, ask, “Would I want this post or text to end up in the newspaper?” If the answer is no, don’t send it because some people regret sharing these post, text, and photos so it is important to think before you do this.
4. Suggest that people with disabilities check their settings to make sure the settings are private. If they don’t know how to do this, they can ask for help from a friend, family member, or staff person.
5. Tell them that they shouldn’t give out any personal information like where you live or your bank account number or any passwords that belong to you.
6. Mention that sometimes people on line are not being truthful. For example, they say they are 18 when they are actually 56.
7. If anything bad happens to you with social media and the Internet, talk to someone that you trust so they can help you.
8. Use this format, from *Healthy Foundations, to think about scenarios and how to respond to certain behaviors:
1. Name the behavior that you see
2. Find out the meaning behind the behavior
3. Decide what messages you want to give
4. Give messages simply
5. Encourage the person to give you feedback
Here is a scenario: A young man posts pictures of his topless girlfriend in very sexy poses on Facebook.
Here is a possible response to this scenario:
1. “I see that you posted pictures of your girlfriend without a shirt on.”
2. “Can you tell me why you did that?”
3. Use the eight tips above to think about messages.
4. “You may think she looks great, but these pictures are private and Facebook is public.”
5. “Does that make sense?”
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed. is a national expert and trains individuals, staff, and parents on sexuality and developmental disabilities. She teaches sexuality education to people with developmental disabilities and trains them to be peer sexuality educators. She is the author of an agency and school curriculum, “Sexuality Education for People with Developmental Disabilities.” She has developed two online courses: “Developmental Disability and Sexuality 101” for professionals and “Talking to Your Kids: Developmental Disabilities and Sexuality” for parents. She has spent her career trying to elevate the status of all people, which is why the name of her growing company is Elevatus Training.
*Format in tip #8 Adapted from Healthy Foundations: The Teacher's Book, The Center for Family Life Education, Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey, 1993
Here are eight tips to use with people with disabilities to help them stay safe.
1. Begin by helping people with disabilities explore the positives and negatives of technology. Ask: “What do you like about texting people and using the Internet to contact friends and family?” “What are some of the negatives things that can happen with technology?”
2. Remind people with disabilities that everything that he or she post or text is PUBLIC. Topics that are okay to post and text are greetings, weather, work, school, public events, and personal information that is on your mind. For example, my cousin just got married.
3. Remind people that before posting or texting words or photos, ask, “Would I want this post or text to end up in the newspaper?” If the answer is no, don’t send it because some people regret sharing these post, text, and photos so it is important to think before you do this.
4. Suggest that people with disabilities check their settings to make sure the settings are private. If they don’t know how to do this, they can ask for help from a friend, family member, or staff person.
5. Tell them that they shouldn’t give out any personal information like where you live or your bank account number or any passwords that belong to you.
6. Mention that sometimes people on line are not being truthful. For example, they say they are 18 when they are actually 56.
7. If anything bad happens to you with social media and the Internet, talk to someone that you trust so they can help you.
8. Use this format, from *Healthy Foundations, to think about scenarios and how to respond to certain behaviors:
1. Name the behavior that you see
2. Find out the meaning behind the behavior
3. Decide what messages you want to give
4. Give messages simply
5. Encourage the person to give you feedback
Here is a scenario: A young man posts pictures of his topless girlfriend in very sexy poses on Facebook.
Here is a possible response to this scenario:
1. “I see that you posted pictures of your girlfriend without a shirt on.”
2. “Can you tell me why you did that?”
3. Use the eight tips above to think about messages.
4. “You may think she looks great, but these pictures are private and Facebook is public.”
5. “Does that make sense?”
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed. is a national expert and trains individuals, staff, and parents on sexuality and developmental disabilities. She teaches sexuality education to people with developmental disabilities and trains them to be peer sexuality educators. She is the author of an agency and school curriculum, “Sexuality Education for People with Developmental Disabilities.” She has developed two online courses: “Developmental Disability and Sexuality 101” for professionals and “Talking to Your Kids: Developmental Disabilities and Sexuality” for parents. She has spent her career trying to elevate the status of all people, which is why the name of her growing company is Elevatus Training.
*Format in tip #8 Adapted from Healthy Foundations: The Teacher's Book, The Center for Family Life Education, Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey, 1993
Table of Content:
- 01 Cyberbullying
- 02 Understanding the Context of Online Messages
- 03 Becoming a Victim of a Scam, Manipulation or Hacking
- 04 Exposure to Inappropriate Content
- 05 Sensory Overload on the Internet
- 06 Internet Addiction
- 07 How to Protect Yourself on Popular Social Networks
- 08 Online Dating and ASD
- 09 How to Tell if Someone is Who They Say They Are
- 10 Signs that Something Might be Wrong Online
- 11 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Internet Safety
- 12 Conclusion
Life Journey Through Autism: A Guide to Safety is intended for parents and family members who have loved ones with autism. Its purpose is to give service users’ family, and the network of individuals and caregivers whom they rely on for support and services the tools, tips, and information needed to identify and address safety threats at home, school, and in the community—ideally before an emergency arises. That said, it alsosuggests ways to prepare in advance for that unwanted circumstance in a manner thatwill support more favorable outcomes.
More specifically, the goals of this guide are to: • Educate parents about the safety risks that may affect their child across the lifespan. • Help parents teach safety habits that will build a foundation for adulthood. • Provide guidance and resources that parents can incorporate into a family safety plan. • Describe how to create a safety network. • Help parents prepare for the unexpected emergency. • Provide access to additional resources and information related to safety Click here to view/download |