CALERA, Ala. (WIAT) — A bill requiring police officers to be trained on how to interact with people who have neurological and developmental disorders is heading to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk for her signature. The bill is called the Cade Noah Act.

Some neurological disorders, like autism, are invisible disabilities that might come from challenges like sensory issues. It’s important for police officers to know how to respond in these cases.

“When you’re coming up and you’ve got several police cars, fire trucks, all of those sounds, those lights can be actually painful for the individual,” says state Representative Leigh Hulsey, a mother to an autistic child.

Hulsey says the Cade Noah Act would require law enforcement officers certified through the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission to get sensory training for people with invisible disabilities. Hulsey says this training is different from Crisis Intervention Training, focusing on how to help calm someone who is overstimulated.

“Those individuals are in crisis, right? They are already in crisis,” says Hulsey. “These individuals are not in crisis, they’re disabled. They are living with something 24/7/365.”

Some police departments like Calera already implement sensory training, having a sensory bag in each cruiser.

“There’s so many different types of training that we are required to have every year and it becomes, when you’re short-staffed as well, it’s difficult to take people out of circulation and do training. But it’s important, it’s something we have to make a priority,” says Calera Police Chief David Hyche, who is also a father to an autistic child. “If you’re not getting better every day at your job, at this job, you’re not keeping up because this job changes all the time.”

Hulsey says the sensory training would be provided as a free video course from the nonprofit KultureCity.