OKLAHOMA CITY – Representatives, law enforcement, state agencies and advocates for people with autism met at the State Capitol to discuss potentially adding an optional identifying mark on Oklahoma driver's licenses and state IDs signaling that the person has autism.

 Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, requested the interim study, which was held last week before the Oklahoma House of Representatives Transportation Committee.

 "I know that many autistic people and their loved ones share deep concerns regarding how an interaction with a member of law enforcement may play out," Miller said. "A voluntary designator on driver's licenses and state IDs identifying the person as having autism may help an officer make a more informed decision on how to proceed in an uncertain situation. The goal of this study is not to require each Oklahoman with autism to identify their diagnosis on their state ID or driver's license, but instead to improve interactions between members of law enforcement and Oklahomans who are on the autism spectrum and help keep everybody safe."

 Emily Scott, executive director of Autism Foundation of Oklahoma, shared statistics from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that one in 36 children and one in 46 adults in the U.S. have autism. She told the committee that one in three adolescents with autism will obtain a driver's license and that people with autism are seven times more likely to have police interactions than a neurotypical person.

 Tom Taylor, an autistic self-advocate who serves as a co-chair of Autistic Adults of Oklahoma, explained the main differences between high-functioning versus low-functioning autism and shared his perspective as the father of an autistic teenager.

 "As a seventeen-year-old preparing to go to college, my daughter is thinking more and more about getting a driver's license," Taylor said. "Knowing how her brain processes stress and conflicting instructions, I am deeply worried about how she may react to interactions with law enforcement someday."

 Taylor said that while there are several methods employed to improve interactions between law enforcement and autistic people, he has concerns that they do not go far enough.

 Preston Lay, legislative liaison for Oklahoma Highway Patrol, told the committee, "Training and people skills among our police is paramount when dealing with any type of special needs situation."

 Cory Sutton, a law enforcement trainer with the Oklahoma Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) and himself a retired law enforcement officer, shared similar sentiments. He travels the state teaching a CLEET-accredited class about interacting with people with autism.

 "As soon as I determine this is a safe situation, we're not in danger, no one else is in danger, I'm telling you one of the first questions that every officer in the state is going to ask is 'do you have your ID with you?'," Sutton said. "We're going to want to see that first. The idea is if an officer can get that ID and see that there is a signifier of some kind on this, that they may have autism, that they now am able to change their gears, change their tactics to get to a safer outcome on this."

 Miller wrapped the study by thanking every person who shared and added, "I think that really what came to light for me personally was, yes we've done some great work. Can we build on that to further the communication and the education component?"