As parents, we may find ourselves jumping mental hurdles as we navigate the “what-if” situations our children could run up against. This can especially be true of parents with neurodiverse children. If your child struggles with communication or can be easily overstimulated and overwhelmed as a result of all that stimulation, you may wonder what happens if they find themselves in an emergency situation? What if they can’t communicate their needs when that communication is most needed?
These are the things that can easily keep parents lying awake in bed at night wishing sleep would come, but unable to stop the what-if situations from playing over and over. In the summer of 2020, Kelsey Schapker founded and created the CAMSE Kit (short for Cam’s Sensory Equipment Kit) as a solution to some of those what-ifs.
Schapker’s son, Camden, had just been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. At the time of his diagnosis, he was four-years-old and nonverbal, and she knew he would not be able to properly communicate his wants and needs with the responders should he find himself faced with an emergency. She also knew sensory tools always helped her son to remain calm. This motivated Kelsey to create the CAMSE Kit.
According to their website, “The kits allow law enforcement, firefighters, airports and other organizations to bring comfort to special needs children and adults in the event of a crisis, emergency, or stressful situation.”
To date, these kits can be found in 18 agencies across four states: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and North Carolina. Their website lets you know which counties those kits are currently located in. Inside the kids you will find seven tools:
- Weighted animal with lavender scent
- Pop-it
- Noodlie for stretching
- Noise canceling headphones
- Swingo for tactile and quiet action
- Pop Tube for auditory feedback
- Functional communication cards for simple yes/no responses.
To help avoid dirt and smoke that can be present in emergency situations, the kits have been adapted to fit on fire truck apparatus on a storage bin. The kits also are used to assist individuals on the spectrum, or with other sensory needs, in other stressful situations — like being at the airport.
Their website states, “TSA Officers at Evansville Regional Airport have successfully used a CAMSE Kit to help a passenger stay calm, and are quoted as saying, ‘It worked perfectly, as intended!’”
Schapker saw a potential problem for her son and used that as a catalyst for creating these helpful kits that would not only benefit her son should an emergency situation arise, but also countless other families.
For more information about CAMSE Kits, or to find out more about how to have them provided in your area, check out the website for contact information: camsekit.org/home.
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