At least 50 people are now registered in the Apopka Police Department’s special needs registry program since Officer Emmanuel Sosa launched it in April 2024, the officer said.
At the April 16 City Council meeting, Sosa accepted a proclamation after Mayor Bryan Nelson read it, declaring April 2025 as Autism Acceptance Month in the city of Apopka.
The proclamation also recognizes the city’s special needs registry program, which serves individuals with disabilities, including people with autism.
“While it doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s 50 people that we’re helping providing resources to and also gain that intelligence while we try to focus on intelligence-based policing, which helps us with many calls for service in the future,” Sosa said.
Sosa thanked the City Council for inviting him to speak. He also thanked Quest Inc., and former Apopka City Commissioner Kyle Becker, who serves as Quest Inc. Board of Directors chair and attended the meeting, for providing resources for people with developmental disabilities.
The special needs registry program was launched to help the APD protect the community and cut down on miscommunication during emergency calls for service, according to the proclamation.
The APD manages a database to inform responding officers on whether someone at a location or residence has a disability.
The program provides decals free of charge to people who register. These decals alert first responders that there is an individual in the home or vehicle that may have limited communication, may require additional time to process, respond to and/or comply with verbal commands, may hide, wander off, or may have no awareness of danger.
This program is not exclusive to individuals with autism. It’s available to anyone who may have special needs.
“He (Sosa) was very instrumental in bringing it forward to the police department, creating the policy and everything else,” Police Chief Michael McKinley told the City Council.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder that starts before the age of 3 and progress throughout one’s lifetime.
The disorder is considered a spectrum because it differs from one individual to another with a wide range of symptoms. Some people might have a hard time in social interactions. Others might have delayed language skills and might have limited and repetitive behavior.
Early intervention services can help an autistic child’s development, according to the Center for Disease Controls (CDC).
Right now, the CDC is doing a follow-up study on what the public health agency’s website says is one of the largest American studies to date on ASD, Study to Explore Early Development, which studies the risk factors and behaviors related to ASD among children ranging from ages 2 to 5 years in the United States.
Autism affects 1 in 36 children, according to the National Autism Association.
Visit apopka.gov/specialneedsregistry to learn more about the city’s special needs registry program.
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