CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Encounters with police or medical professionals can be a scary situation for many but for those with special needs who may not be able to verbalize, it could be a recipe for disaster. Now with the help of a bracelet and an app that could all be a thing of the past.
The sound of sirens causes panic for many but for those with special needs, that panic might be amplified.
Sherry Merkel is the mother of Michael Merkle who attends Choice Living Community. He has a form of autism and at times it's hard for him to communicate.
"It's a very scary, a very scary situation when you're son is lost," said Sherry.
Sherry said there have been incidents where police have been involved.
"The police coming up on him and not knowing anything about him, unless any of the family is there. It can be very scary for them," she said.
Situations like Michael's and others are what prompted Choice Living Community Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Scott and Dominique Dimas with Zip Advertising to come up with a brand new technology as well as an app to help mitigate those types of situations.
"We're here to introduce devices that connect with our app, what they do is allow us to get basic info for those who need it for medical professionals or here at Choice Living Community for their clients," Dimas said.
For someone who is non-verbal or has trouble communicating and is in an emergency situation, all they would have to do is show authorities or medical professionals their bracelet and all they would have to do is scan it with their smartphone.
"In the safety bracelet, there would be some generic information, name, diagnosis and how to help them in an emergency." Dr. Scott said.
The app also has the person's emergency contact should they be in an emergency situation.
Dr. Scott said the best thing about the bracelet is how it's a tool to help them through a tense situation.
"Whether that person is able to verbalize or not, this bracelet is going to help them scan it and know what triggers them and how to help them through that," Dr. Scott said.
Dr. Scott and Dimas say they will slowly unveil this to the clients of Choice Living Community and hope the next step will be the community and beyond.
For more information on the bracelets, you can contact Choice Living Community at 361- 510-0672.
