Weather messaging and individual difference considerations for autistic persons in hurricane and severe weather impact scenarios: Empirical results and case considerations.

Efforts to broaden the weather enterprise’s inclusivity of vulnerable populations have slowly grown in number since about 2015. The present team and others have advocated, researched, and developed strategic partnerships for increased and enhanced weather messaging for and to autistic, Deaf and hard-of-hearing, and blind and low-vision persons. Since Bolton first drew attention to the needs of the autistic population in weather communication and hazard situations in 2015 he, Hanes, Huyck, and Kalb have consistently focused (while others like Blumberg and Mogil have contributed to work) on advocacy, theoretical research, and practical solutions to more effectively provide meteorological services to and include within the weather enterprise those on the autism spectrum. Here, detailing some preliminary results of an ongoing study into weather response behaviors of parents with children, we report on the hurricane evacuation and severe weather response decision-making processes and behaviors of parents with autistic children. We highlight the needs these families have and consider within disaster contexts, examine their concerns and efficacy beliefs about being able to take effective action and protect their families, analyze individual difference factors meteorologists and emergency managers should consider with respect to autism, and discuss ways that meteorologists and emergency managers can reach out and be of aid to families in need.