Heber City couple Michele and T.C. Thomas’ 9-year-old son, who has Down syndrome, likes to explore, even if he doesn’t have an adult with him.

“One day, I was in the bathroom, and my husband was gone, and my front door camera went off, and it was him. He was walking straight out the front door. He had figured out the childproof door handle and lock and just went on his way,” Michele said. “There’s so much to see, so many people to meet.”

Wandering is common among those with certain developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder, but it also affects people with other conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. It refers to situations where someone leaves a safe area or a responsible caregiver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reuniting the individual with caregivers can be complicated when the individual has communication differences or is nonverbal.

Because of risks like drowning and traffic injury, it’s important for law enforcement to “act fast” in such situations, as Michele put it. That’s why T.C., formerly a Heber City Police Department officer, created a vulnerable persons form about eight years ago. 

The voluntary form allows residents to provide information about themself or a loved one in the case they go missing or have an interaction with law enforcement. It advises police on how best to communicate and interact with the individual and provides emergency contacts and photos of the person.

T.C.’s plans to expand the program “fizzled out” when he left the Police Department last July, according to officer Travis Price. So, Price took up the mantle himself, launching the new Project Safeguard last week.

Project Safeguard published the vulnerable persons form online, which includes sections about an individual’s triggers, calming techniques, likes and dislikes. 

Likes have ranged from soothing music to the flashing lights of police cars, Price explained. Meanwhile, one person’s dislike was “males.”

“In that instance, we may rely on our female officers or deputies or first responders to have a key role in that. Maybe we want them to be the ones to initiate the conversation with the individual once we find them or calm them down,” Price said.

The Police Department is also distributing Project Safeguard stickers at the police station that can be placed on car or home windows to alert officers that a vulnerable person may be present.

The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office is working on launching a similar Red Dot program, according to public information officer Leo Lucey. Residents can put stickers on their cars to indicate that someone in the vehicle may have special medical needs and provide a letter detailing those needs to law enforcement if pulled over. 

The Police Department can also share information from Project Safeguard with the Sheriff’s Office, Price said.

The goal of Project Safeguard is for vulnerable persons to have “win-win” interactions with law enforcement, according to Cheryl Smith, the former president of the Autism Council of Utah. 

She said her son, who is 28 and autistic, “does a lot of things that look sketchy” but are actually driven by his special interests.

For example, he may look into someone’s car window if he spots some VHS tapes, which he loves to collect. But because he is nonverbal, he would be unable to communicate what he was doing if he were to have a run-in with law enforcement. 

“One of your fears as a parent is that your kid’s going to have an interaction with officers, and it’s going to go wrong,” Smith said. 

That’s exactly what happened to Golda Barton in 2020 when she called 911 for assistance amid her 13-year-old son Linden Cameron’s meltdown. Salt Lake City Police arrived on the scene, and when Cameron, unarmed, ran from the house, officer Matthew Farillas shot him six times, injuring him. The family sued the city and was awarded $3 million in 2022.

Cameron’s shooting by police was part of what inspired Price to launch Project Safeguard.

“It’s very unfortunate what Cameron and his family had to go through. However, we can educate our officers when they see or hear, ‘Hey, this individual may be on the spectrum,’ to take a step back and realize … their boundaries may be different from other individuals and communication,” he said.

The incident also inspired legislation requiring Utah law enforcement training and intervention responses for mental illnesses, autism spectrum disorder and other neurological and developmental disorders at least once every three years. 

In 2024, Crisis Intervention Team Utah trained the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office. The 40-hour program provides education about how to recognize symptoms of various mental illnesses and disorders and walks officers through scenarios, explained Executive Director Dr. Todd Soutor. 

But he said the most valuable part of the training is connecting police officers with community officers who have “lived experience” and having them share their stories.

“Empathy is such an important component of responding in an informed and educated manner,” Soutor said.

The Autism Council of Utah also provides law enforcement training, but its interactions with local law enforcement agencies have been limited to providing autism sensory bags, free of charge, to the Police Department, Sheriff’s Office and Wasatch Fire District. The bags include fidget toys, noise-canceling headphones and Picture Exchange Communication System sheets, which nonverbal individuals can use to communicate by pointing at pictures or writing.

“We’ve had successes with that, where people have been so anxious they have actually gone nonverbal and were able to write out where they came from, so the officers could get them back home safely,” Smith said. 

For example, body cam footage recently released by the Salt Lake City Police Department shows officers using a sensory bag to de-escalate an incident with an autistic child last month.

Soutor said Utah law enforcement’s treatment of vulnerable persons is “moving in a positive direction.” Project Safeguard, he said, is just one example of that. 

To sign up for Project Safeguard, visit tinyurl.com/mrbccxnh. Summit County law enforcement agencies have a similar program. Learn more at tinyurl.com/rs96rb2b.

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Of the hundreds of people gathered on the Wasatch High School track on Saturday morning, around 40 wore green and yellow baseball caps reading “Team Gunnar.” They’d come for the 5K fundraiser for the local disability advocacy nonprofit, Parents Empowering Abled Kids, or PEAK.

They were the cheerleaders of 9-year-old Gunnar Larson, the biggest Green Bay Packers fanatic in his third grade class at Midway Elementary School — hence the hats.

“His goal in life is to go to the Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field and meet Jordan Love. He even signs his name at school, ‘Gunnar Love,’” said his mother, Darcy.

Gunnar has a rare chromosomal condition called partial trisomy 19. He’s been participating in PEAK-organized activities for four years. The organization partners with the National Ability Center in Park City to provide access to adaptive sports — like cycling, rock climbing, equestrian and skiing — for local kids at a low cost.

“This was Gunnar’s third year skiing, and he flies down that hill, and he was doing blues this year,” Darcy said. “PEAK has been amazing for us because it’s been able to provide opportunities for Gunnar that might not always be available.”

PEAK was founded 10 years ago by Ben Springer, who was the director of special education for the Wasatch County School District at the time. He created the parent group to provide opportunities like recreation and scholarships for the district’s disabled students, give parents a voice in special education programming and recognize the work of parents and educators.

PEAK Board Vice Chair Erin Sabey said the purpose of the 5K is not only to raise funds for programming through business sponsorships, race registration and a silent auction, but to foster community engagement. 

“We want the community to see our kids and recognize that they are part of the community, and we all are better together,” she said. 

John Emmett ran with his 12-year-old son, Timmy. They would trade off in 20-second intervals — 20 seconds of John pushing Timmy in his wheelchair and 20 seconds of Timmy wheeling himself. When they got to the downhill segments, John “couldn’t keep up.”

“It’s (an) all-abilities focus, so there are opportunities to cut the course and do the distance that you can. So last year, we did a little over 3K. Today, we did 4K. Next year, we’re gonna do the full map,” he said. “Right, bud?”

“Sure,” Timmy replied. His favorite part of the 5K wasn’t the race — it was the donuts.

John said Timmy has made friends through PEAK that he wouldn’t have had otherwise and that it’s given him access to recreation that the family wouldn’t be able to afford on their own. 

Ryan Bennett, a parent who has been involved with PEAK since it began, said the same about his 14-year-old son, Tanner.

Tanner’s favorite PEAK activity has been riding horses — especially getting to say, “Yeehaw,” he explained.

Ryan and his wife, Kimberly, have been involved with PEAK since it began. Ryan said he “wasn’t sure how to be a good parent” to Tanner when he first found out his son had Down Syndrome, but that other parents, and later, PEAK, offered advice and connected him with resources that could help.

“I have learned so much about empowering these kids,” he said. “(The key is) believing in him, giving him opportunities, not treating him as having disabilities, but treating him as having many gifts and that he can do hard things.”

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Freshman year at Wasatch High School was turmoil for now-junior Rachael Griffin as she drowned in tests and assignments, all the while beating herself up about it.

“I just felt like I was stupid. I knew this stuff. I couldn’t get it down in time. I couldn’t express myself the right way. A lot of my homework and stuff wasn’t completed all the way because I was rushed on time,” she recalled. “As soon as I found out that I was neurodivergent, I felt so much better about myself and it helped my self-esteem a lot.”

Neurodiversity describes those whose brains function differently from what is considered typical by society’s norms. It includes a range of neurological differences, including autism, ADHD and dyslexia, three diagnoses Rachael received later in high school. 

After receiving her diagnosis, she was able to develop a 504 plan to accommodate her disabilities with the school district. Even with Advanced Placement tests coming up, Rachael isn’t too stressed: she’ll be given extra time and breaks and access to plenty of fidget toys during the testing period.

Rachael noted that she’s “an odd case” in that she is “comfortable with (her) disabilities.” Helping other students develop self-confidence is part of why Rachael serves as president of the high school’s neurodivergent club, Neuro Nest.

School district speech pathologist Liz Griffin — who is not related to Rachael — founded Neuro Nest at the beginning of the school year. Neurodiversity matters to Liz not only because of her line of work, but also because she has ADHD and a family history of autism.

The club will be available to students at both high schools when Deer Creek High School opens in August. Participants do not have to be diagnosed with a condition under the neurodiversity umbrella to participate.

“We will accept you no matter what. Knowing that you’re different is a big step toward getting diagnosed and changing how you think about yourself,” Rachael said.

Neuro Nest offers monthly meetups like game and movie nights, bowling and karaoke, with these social activities sometimes serving as sensory-friendly alternatives to school dances. 

“People need a space where they can be who they are, and there’s no pressure to conform,” Liz said. “There’s no pressure, like, ‘You need to keep a conversation going. You need to make comments about what they said.’” 

Hiding one’s neurodivergent traits is often referred to as masking. Neuro Nest allows students the opportunity to unmask around peers who process the world similarly to the way they do.

For Rachael, unmasking includes stimming. Stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior, refers to repetitive movements, sounds or behaviors. Many people stim, but it is especially common and frequent for neurodivergent people, who do it to regulate emotions, relieve anxiety or deal with sensory overload.

“Yes, it will make kids look at you differently, but who cares, because they’re looking at you differently anyway,” Rachael said.

The club’s alumna advisor, Malone Glick, who is autistic, chimed in, “They’re either going to look at you as if you’re insane or autistic.”

Then, Liz’s 17-year-old son, Braswell, joked, “I keep telling my therapist that I’m insane, but they just keep chalking it up to autism.”

For Rachael, being able to poke fun at one’s disability with a group of peers who are in on the joke is part of the appeal of Neuro Nest.

Glick, who graduated last May, said Neuro Nest would have been a game changer had it been available to her throughout high school.

“Being neurodivergent leaves you with a bit of a disconnect between other people. It’s not that you don’t want to hang out and meet other people. You really do, but it’s really hard to,” she said. 

Glick described high school as the worst period of her life. She said it was hard to get her peers to accommodate her needs. If she asked someone to speak clearly and literally, they would add an implied meaning or sarcasm, which can be difficult for an autistic person to pick up on. And if she asked someone to stop making a noise that bothered her, they would make the noise even louder.

Glick wished that people were more accommodating and that they understood just how challenging it can be to be autistic or elsewhere under the neurodivergent umbrella.

“Just doing everyday life takes everything out of us. You get home from a normal day. You don’t have the energy to do anything you want to do. You can’t get a full-time job even if you wanted to,” she said. “It’s impossible, and you spend all your time completely drained because you spent all day trying to mask … because if you don’t, people don’t see you as a person.”

Another thing Glick wishes people understood about autism is that physical conditions like digestive issues, chronic pain and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) are more common in autistic people.

“People will say autism is just in the brain, but the brain controls your entire body, your nervous system, your digestive system. Everything is shot,” she said. 

One reason for misunderstandings about autism is the lack of accurate representation in fiction, Glick added. That’s part of why she writes fantasy stories: to put a part of herself into each of her characters.

“People are aware stuff like autism exists. They don’t know what it actually is,” Glick said.

Freshman Naomi Adams chimed in with a misconception about autism that irks her: that acetaminophen causes autism in children. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. popularized the theory last year, though there is no substantive evidence supporting it.

“All I really care about is being treated well and having accessibility. And stop with the Tylenol thing,” Adams said.

Adams isn’t much of a club person, but she likes Neuro Nest because it’s so easy to bond over shared experiences.

Liz said that this can be best seen in Adams and Glick’s similar personalities.

“She’s like a younger Malone who has been given more support than Malone had when she was here,” Liz said. 

Glick smiled, “It makes me happy to see.”

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The National Ability Center hosted the Summit Challenge, featuring three distances participants could bike — 16-, 52-, and 102-mile tracks, Saturday, August 27, 2016. Participants were treated to bike care, food, drinks and more upon finishing at the NAC that afternoon. (Photos by Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

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