SWAMPSCOTT – The Commission on Disability discussed logos on Monday with the goal of enhancing awareness of disabilities that are not visible to the eye: intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

The project’s name is “Did you know?” Its aim is to educate law enforcement officers. The commission is looking to create logos for individuals who are hearing impaired, vision impaired, physically disabled, intellectually disabled, and nonverbal, which would let police officers know that they are interacting with someone with one of these disabilities.

The commission plans to partner with the police and fire departments to publicize final versions of the logos and inform officers about the meanings.

Cynthia Cavallaro, a member of the Commission on Disability and certified special education advocate for parents, shared her story. Fifteen years ago, her son with autism liked to peel things off. The school clerk was unaware of IDD and asked him to stop. Her son continued the behavior, and in the end, the police came.

This is the reason Cavallaro started a program. She sat down with both the fire and police departments and created small plastic vinyl binders with information about IDD. These binders were added to every cruiser. She believes that the commission can marry the new logos to what is already in existence at the police station.

The logos are still in the design process and need to be clarified with text explanations that are attached to each picture.

Once the final versions are set, the commission will also reach out to the disability community to let them know how to use the logo cards. After discussion, the commission agreed that they will reach out to all ages in the disability community, especially to parents of minors.