Emergency & first-responder card

Wallet-sized cards for police, paramedics and staff, plus a fridge sheet for first responders.

For: Parents, autistic adults, carers · Free to print, copy and share · No sign-up

What should an autism emergency card say?

Say that the person is autistic, how they communicate, what distress looks like for them, what to avoid, and who to call. Keep it to what someone can read in ten seconds. A card that is short gets read; a card that is a paragraph does not.

Get the PDF See all printables

The PDF is built in your browser on the next screen — nothing is saved or emailed.

How to use it

  1. Fill in the cards in block capitals. They will be read fast, in poor light.
  2. Write how they communicate first — that is the most useful line on the card.
  3. Say what distress looks like, so it is not mistaken for non-compliance.
  4. List the do-nots plainly: no restraint, no sirens, no shouting, no crowding.
  5. Cut out, laminate, and put one in each wallet, bag, car and school file.
  6. Fix the larger sheet to the fridge, where responders are trained to look.

Things worth knowing

Where a paper sheet stops

A printed sheet is fixed. It can't change when the routine changes, it doesn't know the person using it, and it can't put anything in writing for a school or clinic.

Want this made for your situation?

Nova stores the same details securely and can produce a shareable handover for a hospital, school or new carer in seconds.

Nova is a support companion for autistic people, families and the professionals who help them. Every printed sheet carries a scannable code and this short link: portal.novaautism.com/s/emergency-wallet-card

Keep it in Nova Get the PDF

Other free printables

Visual schedule template

Blank picture-and-word boxes for a morning, school, or bedtime routine.

First / Then card

Two big boxes: what happens first, what happens after. The simplest transition support there is.

Sensory profile checklist

Work through each sense and mark what soothes, what overwhelms, and what's still unclear.

Social story template

A blank, first-person story frame for a new place, a change, or something that keeps going wrong.

This sheet is a practical support, not medical, legal, or diagnostic advice.