Law helps bridge communication gap

When Dublin police pulled over Chris Page for swerving in 2016, he was ordered to undergo a sobriety test on suspicion he had been drinking.

“I only had a Pepsi,“he told police.

After struggling to pass the sobriety test, police arrested Page, then 30, who said that by that point he was “scared to death” and could hardly contain his nerves.

However, it wasn’t alcohol consumption that led Page to fail the test.

It was his autism.

Four months, several court appearances and hefty fines had come and gone before Page’s urine samples finally came back, verifying that

no alcohol was present in his system the day he was arrested.

Diane Page, 64, of Dublin, and Chris’ mother, said that although her son, now 33, has high-functioning autism, he struggles to make eye contact and communicate with others — especially law enforcement.

“When you watch the police cam, it is the saddest thing. I mean, we sobbed,” she said.

The incident propelled Diane into advocacy — there had to be something she could do to prevent future misunderstandings from traumatizing individuals like Chris, she said.

“Somehow, something has to be worked out in the future to identify individuals with a communication disability,” she said.

Nearly three years later, Ohio lawmakers approved House Bill 115, the Communication Disability Law. The measure, which took effect in August 2018, allows any person with a communication disability who regularly drives or rides as a passenger to voluntarily register with the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System.

To register, individuals must complete a verification form, found on the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities website, and have it signed by a doctor.

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles also allows individuals to purchase special license plates to indicate that the driver or passenger of a vehicle has a communication disability.

An informational video released by the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities outlines more about the program and explains how individuals can register their disabilities.

Kim Jump, spokeswoman for Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, said the program aims to prevent potentially dangerous encounters when law enforcement officers interact with individuals with communication impairments.

“It’s valuable to the individual with a disability and it’s valuable to law enforcement because it really creates an awareness that otherwise might not be known,” Jump said.

House Bill 115 received unanimous support from both the Ohio House and Senate. Several advocacy groups and law enforcement agencies also contributed to its support, Jump said.

Kathi Machle, managing director of the Autism Society of Central Ohio, said she was pleased to see so many community groups come together to advocate for the disability law.

To avoid potentially dangerous situations, she said it’s important that police are informed of a person’s behavioral problems or disability.

Lt. Craig Cvetan, public affairs commander of the State Highway Patrol, said the patrol takes every possible opportunity to provide its troopers with additional training on communication disabilities.

“Knowing those possible communication challenges in advance certainly safeguards our ability to have safe interactions with individuals,” he said.

For now, Diane Page hopes to spread the word about the disability registration process.

“The more we get signed up, the more we can go after a law to mandate police to be trained,” she said.