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“The information housed with MedicAlert is international. You could go to Germany and they would have immediate access to the information you provided.”

About 1,200 people are listed on the Ottawa registry, which also includes family contact information and a photo of the individual. Over the next few months, those families will be notified about the switchover. There is a $60 annual administration fee for MedicAlert, but that can be waived or reduced for families that can’t afford it. The Ottawa police registry was free.

MedicAlert will also be in touch with families annually to update information. Families already registered with Ottawa police will get their first year with MedicAlert for free.

“We’ll maintain all our information for a year after the families are notified,” Poulin said. “We’re not going to just delete everything.”

Under the new system, when an officer runs a person’s name, a note will appear to say that person is registered with MedicAlert, which has agreed to let Ottawa police access its information.

“We hear from officers every week who say it’s amazing. It reduces the stress levels when responding to a call that appears to be a dangerous call, but it turns out that it’s not,” Poulin said.

One person on the registry often goes to malls and attracts the attention of security. The person is also extremely sensitive to being touched, which can result in a confrontation.

“Then, all of a sudden, police are involved,” Poulin said. Officers know from the registry the ways they can soothe the person.

“They’ll just say, ‘C’mon, let’s go get a juice,’ and it all calms down.”

For more information on the autism registry, visit ottawapolice.ca or call 236-1222 ext 5011.