The police department in the central Missouri town of Moberly has launched a voluntary autism directory aimed at helping improve officers’ interactions with people on the autism spectrum.

Personal information on the form includes names, addresses, descriptions, special tics and more so police can identify and help people who have autism, the Columbia Missourian reports .

Police say the goal is to help responders understand what might make a person agitated and how to calm the person down in a stressful situation. Commander Tracey Whearty said gathered information will be for police and first responders only.

Moberly police reached out to several groups that deal with mental health issues while formulating the program. They also got help from parents like Nikki and Brett Soendker, who have three children on the autism spectrum. Nikki Soendker is founder of an autism charity and awareness group.

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