Aliya Rahman testifying

Why Aliyah Rahman’s Testimony Matters

For many years, we have used a decision-making funnel – developed through our board’s strategic planning – to guide what we post, write about, and include in our publications. An article must provide hope or useful information. We do not publicize trauma, pity, or inspiration porn. We are here to serve people and live our mission as a lifeline of support, information and advocacy. Scaring people, manipulating them with pity, or exploiting people with disabilities are simply the wrong tactics for us.

As a result, our total database now includes more than 21,000 contacts, with roughly 6,500 people following us on social media and about 12,000 receiving our weekly e-blast. It is okay to grow by serving people, and that appears to be exactly what has happened.

This week’s testimony by Aliyah Rahman is an example of extreme bravery, empathy, and resolve, and needs to be heard. Aliyah is an autistic woman with a traumatic brain injury who was assaulted by federal agents in Minneapolis. Her six-minute speech is extraordinarily powerful. While she speaks about being terrorized and harmed, her primary concern is for the many people she witnessed inside an inhumane detention center who do not have her platform. Aliyah demonstrates incredible courage that provides hope while also shattering the harmful stereotype that autistic people lack empathy. That is vital information for us all.


This video includes firsthand testimony from Aliyah Rahman, an autistic woman with a traumatic brain injury, describing harm she experienced in detention. Her words are difficult, but they are shared to provide truth, information, and hope, and to amplify concern for others who do not have a platform. Please take care while watching.

We have dedicated years to working within the criminal legal system in support of people of all ages who encounter law enforcement. We have received grants focused on educating people with disabilities, including hiring Evolve Coaching to help produce the video What to Expect in a Traffic Stop. We have been invited by police departments, district attorney offices, jails, probation, parole, and other entities to provide training on supporting people with a medical diagnosis of autism.

Now, with Aliyah’s story, and the thousands of others who are caught up despite not being investigative targets, we face a conflict. How do we teach, train, support, or offer hope and information in the face of armed troops with marching orders, overwhelming power, and strong financial incentives to capture people regardless of their status? Aliyah did exactly what we teach people to do. She shouted, “I have a disability! I am autistic! I need accommodations!” and it was as if she were screaming into a void. Yes, she was later released, but the physical and emotional harm she and others experience daily cannot simply be erased. That is not how human bodies or brains work.

Through her sworn testimony, Aliyah Rahman has become the teacher, the volunteer advocate for others, and the embodiment of informed hope. We support her in spirit and hope her message helps stem the tide of violence in so many communities, and stops it before it spreads nationwide.

We are here.

If you need help, support, or connection, please reach out.

Autism Connection of PA

412-515-3938

Email: help@autismofpa.org

 

Autism Connection logo on laptop screen
Autistic teenagers painting

Indoor Activities for Complex Needs

At Autism Connection of Pennsylvania, we believe meaningful activities don’t have to be loud, busy, or demanding. For many autistic people, especially those with higher support needs, the most powerful experiences are the ones that support regulation, safety, and choice.

Whether activities happen in a community space, at home, or online, what matters most is that people are free to engage in ways that feel right to them. Here are some activity ideas and guiding principles that help make that possible.

Sensory Activities: Supporting Calm and Regulation

Sensory activities can help the nervous system settle. These spaces and tools are designed to be soothing, predictable, and flexible.

Think:

  • Quiet sensory rooms with soft or dim lighting

  • Bubble tubes, fiber optic lights, or projected visuals

  • Weighted blankets or lap pads for grounding

  • Soft textures to explore, like fabric, gel pads, or water beads

  • Preferred music or calming background sounds

There’s no “right” way to use sensory supports. Some people stay for a long time. Others take a quick break and move on, and that’s okay.

Creative Activities: Exploration Over Outcome

Creative activities aren’t about finishing a project or making something “look right.” They’re about exploring materials and enjoying the process.

Options might include:

  • Painting with hands, sponges, or rollers

  • Squeezing and shaping clay, dough, or putty

  • Light tables or glow-based art activities

  • Music play with drums, shakers, or chimes

Participation can look like watching, touching briefly, or repeating the same motion again and again. All of it counts.

Movement Activities: Helping the Body Feel Safe

two autistic teenagers dancing

Movement can be regulating, especially when it’s gentle and predictable.

Supportive movement activities include:

  • Slow stretching or simple yoga poses

  • Rocking chairs or supported indoor swings

  • Walking paths with clear visual cues

  • Soft obstacle courses made with mats and pillows

These activities aren’t about exercise or performance; they’re about comfort and body awareness.

Engagement Activities: Supporting Focus and Interest

Some activities help with attention and connection without requiring social interaction.

These might involve:

  • Sorting or matching favorite items

  • Cause-and-effect toys or switches

  • Simple routines done the same way each time

  • Choice boards using pictures or real objects

Familiarity and repetition can be reassuring, building trust and confidence.

Social Groups: Shared Space, Not Forced Conversation

Social groups don’t need talking to be meaningful. Often, simply being together in the same space is enough.

Small Group Options

  • Sensory play groups

  • Music and rhythm groups

  • Quiet groups built around shared interests

  • AAC-supported communication groups

Family-Supported Groups

  • Parent–child sensory groups

  • Sibling-friendly indoor play times

  • Caregiver-supported adult groups

These groups work best when expectations are low and support is built in.

What Matters Most

Across all activities and groups, a few principles make the biggest difference:

  • No pressure to interact

  • Parallel play is welcome

  • People can come and go as needed

  • All forms of communication are respected

Belonging should never be tied to behavior, speech, or participation.

Indoor Events: Predictable and Calm

Indoor events are often more accessible when they follow a clear routine and keep sensory demands low.

Ongoing Events

  • Sensory-friendly movie days

  • Open sensory gym or playroom hours

  • Quiet craft or activity times

  • Weekly clubs with the same schedule each time

Special Events

  • Sensory-friendly holiday gatherings

  • Autism-friendly expos with quiet spaces

  • Story times using objects, visuals, or AAC

  • Music or performance events designed for people with profound autism

In-Home and Virtual Options: Flexibility Matters

Not everyone can attend in person—and they shouldn’t have to miss out.

Accessible alternatives include:

  • Virtual sensory activities

  • Recorded calming routines

  • Online groups that use visuals or AAC

  • Flexible options families can use at home

Choice and access should extend beyond physical spaces.

What Makes Activities Truly Accessible

Accessibility isn’t about one feature. It’s about the whole experience. The most supportive activities include:

  • Visual schedules shared ahead of time

  • Clear beginnings and endings

  • Real choice, without pressure

  • Trained, understanding staff

  • Respect for non-speaking communication

  • No requirement to “participate” in order to belong

When we design activities this way, we create spaces where autistic people can feel safe, regulated, and genuinely included, exactly as they are.

At Autism Connection of PA, that’s the kind of connection we’re working toward every day.

Call to Action for Providers

Are you offering autism-friendly activities or support for autistic people with complex needs?
Make sure families can find you by listing your program at autismofpa.org.

Families are actively searching for safe, accessible indoor activities for people with profound autism. Providers can help by ensuring their programs are listed in Pennsylvania’s statewide autism resource directory.

Email tammi@autismofpa.org to share your services and reach families who need them.

By listing your autism-friendly activities, social groups, or events, you help families find options that respect sensory needs, communication differences, and safety without forcing participation.

Join us in expanding access across Pennsylvania.

12 Months of April logo

12 Months of April

What if April didn’t have to end? That’s the question behind 12 Months of April, a project turning autism awareness into year-round action. From creating sensory kits to connecting families and first responders with life-saving programs like Yellow Dot and Project Lifesaver, this initiative started with one parent’s mission: make safety resources known, accessible, and ready when they matter most.

The parent behind the project, Kati Maas-Crawford, shares the story behind 12 Months of April.

When Good Intentions Aren’t Enough: Lessons from Autism, Safety, and Community Programs

In November 2024, I met with my municipality to discuss programs like the Yellow Dot Program and Project Lifesaver. I followed up with emails to help supply the building with pamphlets and information. In March 2025, I read a court document labeling these efforts “gratuitous,” which was upsetting. How could programs meant to help people with special needs be seen as unnecessary, especially by a family law firm?

A week later, Victor Perez was shot and killed by police in Idaho. I wondered if resources like a premise alert or special needs registry, or de-escalation techniques I’ve used in classrooms, could have made a difference. Shortly after, RFK held a press conference on autism, sparking widespread debate that felt personal, since autism touches both my home and work life.

At the end of April 2025, a book was sent to our house “to help” our child. It wasn’t requested, didn’t focus on coping skills or sensory needs, and didn’t fully represent autistic experiences. We were initially told it came from our municipality or police department. When I raised concerns and suggested better options, I was later informed the book did not come from them, which left questions and frustrations unresolved.

Making April Last All Year

Any one of these things would create anxiety for a parent but everything quickly accumulating amplified my worries. I knew that passively observing all these problems was not an option for me. If there is a problem, you solve it. One clear problem was that there wasn’t enough awareness of these resources by families, care providers or first responders. We were deep in April, which is autism awareness month, but what happens once April is done?

You make April year-round!

I then made myself the goal of contacting all municipalities in Allegheny County within 12 months about programs that they could share with their first responder services as well as community members. Hence the name “12 Months of April.” I made a Facebook page about my goal to hold myself publicly accountable as well as promote the safety resources.

safety resources

Yellow Dot, Project Lifesaver, and Premise Alerts are free through the County and State and can make such a difference for everyone who could be involved in an emergency.

The Yellow Dot program is a yellow circle sticker that goes on your back windshield to alert first responders that someone in the car has special needs whether they be medical, physical or cognitive. A yellow pamphlet in the glove box details these needs to help first responders provide even better assistance for someone who is deaf, non-verbal, diabetic, heart condition, anything.

Project Lifesaver is a national program that is currently sponsored in Allegheny County through the DA’s office. It is a bracelet that a person wears and can be tracked through radio frequency should a person wander and does not have the means to communicate or understand where they are. This benefits those with autism as well as those with dementia or Alzheimer’s. This can help greatly reduce search time for someone which is crucial in preventing injuries or death.

The Allegheny County Premise alert is also known as the Special Needs Registry. I personally share it as a premise alert as it can help in many ways. You register with the county and then if services are dispatched to your home, police get an alert that gives them information about special needs, if the house has firearms, senior resident is on oxygen, or anything that helps prepare them.

I personally feel that the ball has been dropped, or not even picked up when it comes to promoting these programs. Information about them seems to be a reactive measure after a tragedy has happened. I would much rather be proactive. Even if one person a day learns about these things, then they can share with someone else and information will continue to ripple out.

Sensory Kits

As things were progressing, I spoke with a social worker and we discussed the cost of sensory kits. Sensory kits can retail for $50-$150 which can be hard to work into budgets. I feel that that cost is high, especially considering how much of the kit contents were sitting in a toy box at my house. I felt that something was better than nothing and started making kits.

The kit may look like a Ziplock bag of “stuff” but everything in them has a purpose. Every item in the kits reminds me of our child or my students. I made and donated a few, posted it on our page and then started receiving requests! To keep up with requests, I started posting on Facebook and talking with friends about others cleaning out their toy boxes. As things continued, it was suggested that I make an Amazon Wishlist, which people have been so generous with!

My husband and our daughter help make and deliver the kits. Our daughter is so caring about others and we are so proud of her every day! She understands what everything in the kit can help with and has explained the sensory kits in front of Fire Departments, Fraternal Order of the Police meetings and each grade at her school for their Safety Day. As my goal progressed, places were requesting that we come do a presentation about the sensory kits as well as other resources and ideas.

sensory kit helper

 

Growing the Mission: Expanding Sensory Kit Support and Community Partnerships

As this project has grown, I feel the need to keep it going and expand into neighboring counties as well as Erie county where I grew up. To support that mission I jumped through the hoops to get non-profit status to keep things accountable and ready to grow. I want to keep reaching out to different organizations about spreading information about the safety programs as well as coming together to collect items for kits, make them and then get them to first responders.

The list of people I want to thank is constantly growing and it’s almost unbelievable how supportive people have been, especially those in the community where we live. There is a man in Cranberry, Harry Rattay, who has been incredibly supportive with orders and funds and I can tell how much he loves his nephew.

We have started working with schools, Girl Scout and Cub Scout troops, American Heritage Girls, and more to collect items, create kits and donate them to first responders while children can learn more about what the first responders do. The ACLD Tilotson School in Baldwin has made 65 kits! Girl Scout Troop 16144 in Shaler has 30 kits made and they will be directly donating them to O’Hara PD, Lower Valley EMS as well as Parkview EMS and VFD.

I always say that in a perfect world, these kits wouldn’t be needed. But we all know that anything can happen and I am hoping that these kits will help First Responders assist children, those with special needs really anyone who could use some different support during a crisis. I have met so many wonderful and helpful people along the way and we find ways to help each other. Whether it is sharing posts, exchanging items, offering and receiving support, everyone has been awesome!

The 12 Months of April project has grown from creating sensory kits for local first responders to expanding into neighboring counties, partnering with schools, scout troops, and community members to collect, assemble, and distribute kits. With nonprofit status secured, the initiative continues to raise awareness, provide practical support, and build a network of caring people dedicated to helping children and individuals with special needs during emergencies. To learn more, visit 12 Months of April on Facebook.

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