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Photos by Lexi Coon.
Left to right, School Resource Office Richard Knecht, the Autism Society of Alabama's mascot Jerry the Frog, MBHS student Henley Hager, ASA Executive Director Melanie Jones and ASA Marketing Director Lauren Reid. Henley Hager was part of the inspiration for the new Mountain Brook Police Depatment Autism Awareness patch, which Knecht created and is selling to raise funds for the ASA and raise awarness for autism spectrum disorder.
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Photos by Lexi Coon.
Knecht has collected thousands of patches, but added one more this year that he created for autism awarness.
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Photos by Lexi Coon.
Knecht has collected thousands of patches, but added one more this year that he created for autism awarness.
Student Resource Officer Richard Knecht collects public safety patches. He has thousands from police departments all over the country.
If you look on eBay, he said, there are “over 80,000 live auctions every day of police patches and memorabilia.” But this November, he added one to his collection that was particularly special because it’s one he created: the Mountain Brook Police Department Autism Awareness patch.
Knecht thought of the idea after reading about a police department in Rhode Island that did a similar patch for their officers and looked into it a little bit more. He soon learned there were no other patches like it in Alabama.
“My position was, let’s be the first department in Alabama to do it,” he said.
Knecht designed and created the patches, which he wanted to sell to benefit the Autism Society of Alabama. After looking into the society a little more, he learned they were headquartered just down the street in Cahaba Heights.
Knecht also learned ASA Program Director Bama Hager’s son, Henley, who has autism, was one of the MBHS students he interacted with regularly.
“It was really a culmination, a great local story,” Knecht said. He said it was the special education students at the high school, including Henley, with whom he interacts daily, who inspired him to create the patches.
The ASA, which aims to improve services for those with autism spectrum disorder and their families through education and advocacy, works at both a local and state level, Hager said, and Knecht was happy to do another project that could directly benefit his students.
“I don’t want to be the guy just sitting in the office, just waiting for something to happen,” he said, “and I want to be able to do things for the Autism Society of Alabama and help out the kids.”
The patch features Mountain Brook’s Old Mill in the center, which is then surrounded by the signature puzzle pattern that often accompanies autism awareness.
“It’s a neat design, and people might ask, ‘Why the puzzle?’ … And I think that’s the beginning conversation,” he said. “I think once they being to learn more about it, then they’ll understand how difficult it is for some children that have autism to be in the school system and to function, even when leaving the school system.”
Hager has been with the ASA for 16 years and said she’s happy about the project and Knecht’s involvement. Hopefully, she said, the patches will bring about more awareness and acceptance and serve as a model for other departments in the state to do the same.
“My son has always been embraced by the Mountain Brook community, and then this is just a further reminder of how appreciated he is and how appreciated kids that have challenges or people that have challenges are in our community,” she said. “We’d be thrilled to see [the patches] all over the state.”
The patches can be put on items like shirts or backpacks and Knecht said in the future, there is a possibility for the design to be turned into a magnet, too.
Knecht purchased the first patches and is selling them for $10 each, with shipping included if he needs to mail the patches to buyers. All proceeds will go to the ASA. For inquiries, email Knecht at knechtr@mtnbrook.org, or go to the ASA’s website, autism-alabama.org.
