TRENTON, Mich. (WXYZ) — Fireworks celebrations around metro Detroit are headed toward full blast with the Fourth of July holiday fast approaching.
For some, the noise can be unbearable. So, a Downriver nonprofit is working to help people with autism.
Lisa Vilella, founder of Mimi’s Mission told 7 Action News, “When you’re an autistic person, your sensory overload and your sensory intake is like a hundred times what we hear... is what they process."
"One little firecracker could sound like a bomb to them," she explained.
The anxiety is real and also for those with post-traumatic stress disorder, Vilella said.
She wants to make this clear to anyone firing off fireworks this weekend and in the days to come.
So her mission is providing yard signs for families with a child with autism, which are designed to let neighbors know that someone with autism lives there. In turn, neighbors can be considerate when lighting fireworks. The mission is also providing noise-canceling headphones.
“Without Mimi’s mission, I don’t know where we would be today," Kristy Jakubiec said.
The Trenton resident and mother of four said she learned about the mission through a friend of a friend when her son Tyler was diagnosed with autism around the age of 2 years old. Her family’s been part of the group for about five years now.
“She has helped us from headphones, to swings, to crash pads to you name it… she’s helped us," Jakubiec explained.
She said Tyler is OK with the fireworks, but two of her other children benefit from the noise canceling headphones.
Mimi’s Mission teamed up with local police departments to distribute the yard signs. Those police departments are Allen Park, Brownstown Township and Lincoln Park. Vilella said the noise-canceling headphones can be picked up at Brownstown Township Police Department.
“The police, I can’t say enough about our police departments Downriver," Vilella said.
She stated, “We just ask people to know that these people are here and they count and their presence count, just to be kind so if the city says stop at 11 (pm), please just stop at 11.”
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