Orange County sheriff promotes autism decal program days after 5-year-old boy found dead in pond

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office set out to remind residents Tuesday about its program that allows emergency responders to better assist people with autism.

This announcement comes less than a week after a 5-year-old boy with autism was found dead in a pond near his Orange County home after his mother reported him missing, saying he walked out the back door.

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The Autism Decal Program, which launched in April 2021, alerts first responders when there is someone with autism in a home or vehicle and allows them to draw on their training to understand how to help these individuals and prevent tragedies from happening.

According to Sheriff John Mina, anyone in unincorporated Orange County is invited to register for a free decal, which should be affixed near the front door of a home or on the rear window of a car. These decals indicate to emergency responders that a person in the car or home “may not speak, respond to or comply with verbal commands, may hide, or wander off, or may have no awareness of danger.”

“As sheriff, I am so proud of this decal program and I am proud of the continued efforts of the men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to meet the needs of our entire community,” Mina said in a video posted on Twitter.

To register for the program, click here. Those interested in registering for the program without any decals can still do so here, which allows the sheriff’s office to flag an address in its dispatch system so arriving deputies are aware that a person with autism lives in the home.

Anyone with questions can email the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at OCSOautism@ocfl.net.

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