MedicAlert a voice for autistics in crisis situations
The silver identification bracelet that indicates an existing condition to first responders has been a valuable tool for decades. In 1953, a teenage girl named Linda Collins cut her finger badly. At the hospital, she received a tetanus shot, had a severe allergic reaction and almost died.
After that incident, her parents began attaching a note about her allergy to her coat whenever she left the house.
Eventually they had a custom bracelet made for her with her medical needs engraved into the plate. It became clear that rapid access to medical information could save lives – and MedicAlert developed into a worldwide network.
In April, following World Autism Awareness Day, MedicAlert and Autism Canada put their respective efforts and years of experience together to develop the MedicAlert Autism Program.