We are excited to announce a new and innovative program called Linked - Autism Safety Project.

LINKED was created by an Autism mom, Ashley McClain to build a relationship between emergency responders and the members of special needs community. This project was created as a collaborative effort with a network of public safety professionals, autism professionals and autism parents.

This program is a Voluntary Registration for the Middlefield’s official Special Needs Alert System. Caregivers of the Middlefield special needs community can access the registration form from the Fire Department’s website or by stopping into the Middlefield Fire Company to fill out a hard copy of the registration form.

Upon completing the online registration form, it will be automatically directed to the community coordinator of the LINKED program. This information will provide first responders with important individualized information about the person with autism and allow the responder to create a pre-arrival plan. All registrations are secure and confidential and used only for the response of Middlefield Emergency Services.

Each family that registers for the LINKED program will receive a Family Emergency Planning Folder with individualized instructions and a guide that includes tips and tools to navigate this program and an emergency situation. Additionally, the Family Emergency Planning Folders provide emergency preparedness Social Story, created by professionals, which is a personalized learning tool containing text and illustration that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages.

Additionally, first responder will be equipped with a sensory pack in every fire truck and ambulance which contains a variety of sensory products provided by recommended by professionals in the field.

To accompany the sensory packs, LINKED- Autism Safety Project is providing Emergency Picture Exchange Communication System, which is a picture communication tool for non-speaking residents developed by professionals to assist in the dialogue between the child and emergency responders.

The Middlefield Fire Company members have completed training with LINKED to better understand and support the Autism community. We committed to the special needs community and developing best practices and increasing the quality of services to all our residents. We will continue to provide training to our firefighters and are seeking new, innovative platforms to further provide greater services.

This program is free to all Middlefield residents of differing abilities.