Source: Upworthy
Jeroen De Busser is an computer science student with autism…He (had) a particularly harrowing meltdown in which he went completely nonverbal. The situation was further exacerbated by the presence of his friends, who despite their best intentions, did not know how best to help him — and of course, he was unable to tell them himself, which made everything even more frustrating.
This experience inspired Jeroen to create Emergency Chat, a text-based app that displays personalized instructions on how to assist or handle an individual during a meltdown or panic attack, instead of wasting precious time in trying to parse through verbal communication.
What an app like Emergency Chat does is give people with autistim, or PTSD, or tracheostomies, and so on, control over the way the world around them tries to help them function when they lose their ability to speak.
In short, it’s a win for everyone involved. It saves them the stress and anxiety of wondering what will happen to them, whether they’re with friends or in a strange environment, and it ensures that they can ask for — and receive — the help they need.
The app is currently available for Android and Apple iOS phones. The next time you’re on the verge of a panic attack, just give your phone to a stranger, and the Emergency Chat App messages can instruct them on how to help.