LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Did you know that if you have a communication impediment, your license plate can help alert first responders of that barrier?
In 2017, the Arkansas legislature passed a law that allowed anyone with communication difficulties to request a special license plate decal, so first responders can be alerted.
The decal reads "communication impediment" and is placed in the upper left corner of the license plate.
This decal could be for people who are deaf or mute. It could also be for people with autism, Down Syndrome, or Alzheimer's.
In the 5 years since it has been introduced, only 240 decals have been issued.
The Arkansas Autism Resource and Outreach Center said that this can be beneficial to people who are nonverbal or even those who have issues with social interactions or making eye contact.
They explained that it's a personal decision and individuals should consider if they want that information private or not.
"If it's a driver and they are concerned about privacy, which is totally understandable, they could just have that association with the actual driver's license," said Scott Hardin with the Department of Finance and Administration.
He explained that if a person has their driver's license labeled with the communication impediment, then only law enforcement will know when they run the license through the system.
The Little Rock Police Department said that officers are trained for instances where they might meet someone with a communication barrier.
"It's offered in recruit school. We also do Crisis Intervention Training, so, for CIT we do a little bit of it, and in-service for our officers every year," said Mark Edwards with LRPD.
LRPD could not tell us what that training was to help them prepare for situations like this, or how they would use that training when coming into contact with someone who had a communication impediment.
However, they did tell us some officers are fluent in sign language.
To get a communication impediment decal, you need your physician to fill out a form that says you qualify. Then, you can take that form to the DMV where they will provide the sticker.