Wrapped Up for Autism Awareness

The Key West Police Department is getting a jump on April’s Autism Awareness Month with a colorful wrap on one of our police cars, thanks to a sponsorship by Pepsi.

The Department is proud to support the Autism Society of the Keys (ASK) to help advocate, educate and support their mission of helping families affected by autism.

According to ASK President Jill Campbell, there are approximately 136 new diagnoses every day, a number larger than diabetes, leukemia, down syndrome, and AIDS combined.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children in the United States today.

Hope Haley, wife of Lt. Matt Haley, has been the driving force in this visibility campaign. And she’s leading the drive to raise funds for ASK by selling KWPD autism awareness patches and challenge coins. Both are available on eBay.

The awareness campaign is part of an ongoing effort by the department to serve members of the community with special needs.

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