Kentucky Hidden Wonders

Inside The Backwards Backpack: How Sensory Tools Help Autistic Kids In Crisis

• Kentucky Hidden Wonders • Episode 15

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A roadside crash. A child on the spectrum overwhelmed by noise and confusion. One pair of headphones, a set of picture cards, and a dinosaur-weighted plush turn panic into calm. That pivot—from chaos to connection—is the heart of our conversation with Aaron and Ashlea Garofola, the co-founders of The Backwards Backpack, a grassroots nonprofit outfitting first responders, schools, and families with sensory bags that work in real time.

We dig into how the idea was born from a devastating ER moment and grew into a county-wide network where every EMS vehicle and fire truck carries tools designed for autistic kids under stress. You’ll hear exactly what goes into each backpack—noise-canceling headphones, an LCD writing tablet, visual communication cards, fidgets, chewables, snacks, water, and a four-pound weighted animal—and why these items follow evidence-based principles from occupational therapy and crisis communication. The Garofolas share powerful field stories, including a scene where a child pointed to “scared” and self-regulated once the environment quieted and choices made sense. It’s practical, repeatable, and deeply humane.

We also get tactical about safety and support at home: applying for Medicaid waivers, selecting safety beds and locks, using alarms and cameras to prevent elopement, and understanding the heightened risks around water. If you’re navigating early signs, we cover the realities of diagnosis waitlists, why to call early, and how to document regression or communication changes. From Shelby County to surrounding districts, we map the path to scale—low overhead, local sponsors, school integrations, and partnerships with multi-county agencies and foster care services—so other communities can adopt the model.

Join us to learn how a simple bag can change outcomes for autistic kids, reduce trauma on scene, and give families a toolkit they can trust. Subscribe, share with someone who needs this, and leave a review to help more counties gear up with Backwards Backpacks.

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🎙️ Kentucky Hidden Wonders is presented by ShelbyKY Tourism.

🥃 Plan a visit to Your Bourbon Destination® at www.visitshelbyky.com. Located in the heart of central Kentucky and less than an hour from Louisville and Lexington, ShelbyKY is the perfect Kentucky getaway. Complete with two great distilleries, action-packed outdoor adventures, and the best vacation rentals near Louisville, put ShelbyKY at the top of your list when planning a Kentucky Bourbon Trail® trip, romantic couples retreat, or a whole-family vacation.

🎙️ Kentucky Hidden Wonders is hosted by Janette Marson and Mason Warren and edited by Ethan Fisher.

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SPEAKER_02:

Um, welcome to Kentucky Hidden Wonders. I'm Jeanette Marson. And I'm Mason Warren. Together we're uncovering the secrets, stories, and hidden gems of Shelby County, Kentucky.

SPEAKER_03:

From unforgettable places to off-the-beaten path adventures, join us as we explore Kentucky treasures and Shelby County's best kept secrets. Our guests today are Aaron and Ashlia Garfola, uh, the co-founders of the Backwards Backpack uh charity nonprofit here in Shelby County. Thank you all for being here. Thank you. All right. So jumping into questions. So, what is the backwards backpack? What inspired that? What does the name mean? Kind of give us the background.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, she's gonna make me do this. Okay. I was looking at her and hoping she would jump in. This really is the passion project of hers. So we have four children. Two of them are neurotypical adults, um, and neurotypical meaning they think and process information just the way most people do. Uh, we have two other sons that are on the autism spectrum. And so um just seeing those two, one of them is a level one, one is level three, uh, and there are really only three levels in the spectrum. So level three being the most severe. So our oldest son is level three, most severe. And after nine years of us just watching him and interacting with him and all of the things you have to do to um understand what it takes to support him, is uh almost impossible for for most people. And she has done an excellent job of almost having a PhD and understanding how to get Medicaid waivers and safety equipment for our kids. And we kind of had a conversation about we need to share this with other people. Um, we've had some friends of ours that have had a new diagnosis for their kid and they came to us and said, Where do I start? I mean, the first thing you do is there's just this panic, right? Now I have this diagnosis. What other specialist should he see? How do I make my home safe? You know, the all these questions. And uh that was kind of the genesis of it. And then it grew into the outreach program, uh part of the backwards backpack. So you want to talk about the the backpacks themselves?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think um it's important to tell the story about how we first got the idea. But a few years ago when my husband was working um in a local hospital, we had a kiddo come through the ER they did, and he was autistic and he was in foster care. He had a meltdown, he was struggling super bad, and it was at that point that the foster parents decided they were done, they were done. They just left him at the hospital. Um, and we had just had the boys newly diagnosed, and that broke me. That news just literally broke me. So we cried. I mean, I cried all night long. So I said it would be so great if we could have had some kind of a sensory bag that we could have given to him to help him regulate his emotions, communicate, etc. That was where the idea was born. Um, and then we kind of launched it at the end of 24.

SPEAKER_02:

That's a heartbreaking story. I give I probably would have cried as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my goodness. So the backpacks sound amazing. What exactly is in each of the backpacks and how did you choose those items? I know well, you go ahead and just tell us more about that.

SPEAKER_00:

We initially decided the backpacks would be for crisis situations. So it would be for hospitals, local law enforcement, fire, EMS, um, to have a tool bag in their kit that they could give to a kid that's having a meltdown that has just been in a car accident or has come through the ER and can't get regulated and might not have all the tools that they left at home because it was an emergency situation. So on the outside of the bag, you will see communication cards that for your nonverbal kids, they can point to their feelings, yes, no, basic needs or wants to let us know what they need. Then inside the bag, we have um noise-canceling headphones, we have an LCD tablet where again your nonverbal kids could maybe write um what they need or want. Um, our son has recently just started talking, but it's still at most one to two word phrases. So he prefers to write at this time. But two years ago, he preferred to point at cards. We have five or six fidges. Um, one of those is sponsored by Kozair. We have um a salty snack, a sweet snack, water, and chewies or kind of like things that they can put in their mouth and that safely bite on. And then a weighted stuffed animal. Of course. So about a four-pound weighted stuffed animal that they can just hold on to and kind of calm them immediately. Right.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, everything's really about sensory for these kids, right? So the headphones is the first thing. And we've got a great story I want her to share about uh Fire Chief Doty, who was on an EMS run and really helped a kid. Um, but the first thing we need to do is kind of quiet the environment. They have to process things so much more than we do, right? They hear every sound that everything's happening all at once. And the headphones kind of drowns that out so they can focus. Uh so that was obviously the first choice for us.

SPEAKER_02:

And I do want to hear that story. I know um my next question was gonna be you know, what have haven't has anybody been able to use those in a situation? So I'd love to hear information about that.

SPEAKER_00:

So while we're getting our website up and running, we do post a lot to our Facebook. And you will see on our Facebook, um, there was a kiddo um that was in an accident and he had to be airlifted to the hospital the children's hospital in Lexington and he received a bag. One of his family members was able to stop by the house, pick it up, and go straight there with it. And his just his whole face lit up when he opened that and got a dinosaur-weighted stuffed animal. Um, so that was our first kind of like right there, you know, used, tested, loved everything in it, and it really did help him. Um, but the best story to date um came from just maybe two weeks ago when I was doing an EMS run um for another volunteer organization that I'm involved with here. And as we were driving to the um I guess it would be the EMS building. The EMS station, yeah. We passed a wreck. And we didn't know at the time that there were several kids involved and that one of those kiddos was on the spectrum. So fire chief Sean Doty said that um he was on the scene and somebody came running over because there was this kid standing. He was just screaming, he couldn't be consoled. He was on the side of the road and he said, somebody said, We need earmuffs, we need earmuffs or headphones. And he says, Why would we have those? I don't have those. And another person said, Well, they have an autistic kid. He said, Wait, I have just the thing for that. So he ran to his um vehicle, he pulled out the bag, brought it over, they put the headphones on the kid, and he immediately stopped screaming. So they got out the L C D tablet. His family was like, How do you have this? He has 10 of these at home and he just calmed down. He was writing, he pointed at the cards, he was using everything in the bag, but it changed us a moment that was beyond stressful. I mean, nonstop screaming into just calm and regulated. So he said, Well, you know, there's a couple in our community that have kids on the spectrum, and they've came up with these bags, and we have them on every, you know, fire truck, EMS vehicle in the in the county.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and he was even pointing to the card saying scared, the scared card, right? So he was out of his element, he's on the side of the road. It's not a place that he wants to be. Yeah. And this was his only way to have a little comfort in the middle of the chaos.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my goodness. So uh I think we jumped past it a little bit. What does the name actually mean? What is what is a backward how obviously they're the backpacks are what you're giving out, but what's the backwards element of that?

SPEAKER_00:

Our son Mason, um, when he first went to school, he refused to put his backward, his backpack on on his back. So he always wore it on the front, um, just like that. And since we um took that picture, it's just always stuck with us, but we decided to name it the backwards backpack because it was one of the first things that you kind of noticed. Okay, that's a little different. Um, but since then we've learned that a ton of um kids on the spectrum put their backpack on that way too.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah. So it's pretty common.

SPEAKER_01:

And when she got the picture, this was years ago. She said, We're gonna do something with this. This is probably gonna be our logo whenever we start this nonprofit. And at the time, I'm thinking, yeah, okay, maybe we'll do that someday. And then that call to action happened in the ER where we saw this kid and she's like, We're not waiting anymore. We have to do something.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. So, what kind of feelings do you feel when you hear of a backpack being um used? I mean, what what how how does it make you feel? I can imagine. Just super accurate.

SPEAKER_00:

Super excited um and super proud that we were able to do this. I just um followed up with um Kelly Cable and he was saying, Oh, I need three or four more bags. And I was just like, yes. And so I was like, that they're out there, they're working. That's amazing. I couldn't be happier when I think about what we've been able to accomplish in a short time. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03:

So, and it kind of sounds like this has been several years in the making, but uh obviously starting a uh a nonprofit is not uh an easy overnight small task. And so how have uh are there have there been any unexpected challenges that you've faced and then what's kind of kept you going uh through that process?

SPEAKER_00:

I think Aaron can elaborate more, but the community has been the biggest um thing that keeps us going and just the way that people have stepped up to help us. Um my boss at Shelby Life magazine has one of been one of our biggest supporters since we started, but he's all about the kids and giving back. Let me know where I can help. Um Judge Executive Dan Ison, the second he heard about our project, he's like, I will support you. I want to sponsor a bag for every EMS vehicle in the county. And he did that. So I mean, that was those were the things along with Kozair and um different places that have just allowed us to bring this to life because without them, you know, it would have been funding on us, and I don't know how far we would have gotten.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and talking about just the process of establishing your nonprofit and all the paperwork that goes into, you know, working with the state. Uh luckily we've got some friends here that are attorneys too. So we asked them for some of their advice and we had no capital, right? There's no piles of money to help us start this. So um she's got a great business mind. We both have MBAs. We're like, we can figure this out, right? So she sat down one day and she started doing the research and she's on the um websites for the state and writing down all the details. And uh before I knew it, she's like, we have a nonprofit. I've already submitted all work and could you help me with this, this, and this? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02:

So um I know we talk a lot about Shelby County because we are Shelby County. Are you going outside of our area? Um, because it's an amazing project. I mean, like Louisville, and I mean, I could see this being a national nonprofit. I really can.

SPEAKER_00:

That's our ultimate goal. Um, for now, we need to take care of some stuff inside of Simpsonville. Um, and then next, after we released bags into all of the Shelby County public schools, I think Henry and Spencer have both reached out about partnering with us. So we definitely want to do that. We want to get them in every special needs classroom in the surrounding counties. Um, and then there were a couple organizations that reached out that cover multiple counties. So we are working with them to get our bags into um an organization that helps with kids that are going into foster care places, placements. So they it's not just Shelby County, it's um Jefferson County, it's all kinds of counties. So um to do those bigger projects, we have to fundraise even more and get our name out there even more.

SPEAKER_01:

And as far as covering down for Shelby County, which is our home, we want to do that for sure. It seems like every week or two a new business comes to us and says, we just heard about you and we have these kids in our business. It's a dentist's office, it's butterfly house, it's all these places where they're like, if I just had that, I could have maybe prevented this kid from having a 30-minute meltdown. And so we're like, all right, we've got you on the list. We're gonna start doing some more fundraising, get some more bags, and just cover Shelby County. But yes, we would love to do it regionally. Uh, as she said, whenever we put a backpack in every special needs classroom in Shelby County Public Schools, it spread like wildfire. And within probably two, three days, we had um both Henry and Spencer Counties reaching out to us to saying, how do we do this?

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, absolutely. So have have the news stations, any of the news stations reached out to you yet? I could this would be a great news story. Not yet.

SPEAKER_00:

I think the Sentinel has put us in for a couple of our events. Um they've been really good about that, but no, not other than that. We haven't. We um plan to try to do some of those things in the upcoming months, reach out to a different few different stations and see if we can't be um work that angle because we did meet a gal from W L K Y.

SPEAKER_01:

So we were at the Bell Awards.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, and congratulations on that by the way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Yeah, I appreciate that. Um, we were there and at the front table, and you have a host with you that brings you an escort, I guess they call him. Um, and so we got to meet her, and she said, uh, this is divine intervention for sure. Um, I only cover nonprofits right now. She said, I'm kind of covered on Louisville. I've been doing it for a long time, all of Jefferson County. She's like, I don't know a lot about Shelby County. Could I get in touch with you and not only do your story, but the VRO stuff and you know all these other organizations that I support? And I said, not only that, there are so many nonprofits in Shelby County. I keep you busy for two years. So we are definitely gonna connect with her after the holidays and uh see if we can get something done. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. I honestly, I mean, I can see it national. I see it now. Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03:

So for families who are listening that have children that are on the spectrum, what kind of message or is there any advice or anything like that that you'd want them to hear just based on what you've seen from all of your experience working, you know, in this uh I'll say realm uh just over the last couple of months or years even?

SPEAKER_00:

I would say that it's good to have support around you, whether it be your community or your family, you're going to need it. Um, you know, it's not simple just uh walking down the street and catching a 14-year-old to babysit your kids. That's not a luxury we have, um especially for those more on the severe side of the spectrum. But, you know, apply for those waivers, get those safety precautions in your home, get the safety bed, get the locks, the alarms, the cameras, all the stuff to keep those kiddos from eloping because a big um fear that we have with Mason is elopement. He's always trying to escape. He wants to find the next body of water. Um, we share quite a bit on our Facebook page about the dangers of drowning with autism. It's just story after story after story of a kid getting out of their home and getting to a lake or a pond down the road. And, you know, most of the time that it doesn't end well. Um, so I think it's our number one priority as parents should be making sure the home is safe. Once you realize that they have autism and that they are trying to elope and that's what that is, get them diagnosed so that you can get those supports put in place and you can get on those waivers and get that safety bed that might cost you 15,000. But if you have the waiver, at least here in Kentucky, you know, you don't end up paying for that.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, that's amaz it's amazing that there's those kind of groups out there and that kind of help. And I love it that you say that people can call you and ask you questions and get advice from you. So, and then also for so every time I hear you speak, both of you, I get very excited. I get excited about your mission, I get excited about what I see, what I can envision for you. Um, but for families that are listening right now or people um that are also excited, how can they help? Um, how can they get involved or donate? Um, give the listeners some information.

SPEAKER_00:

So we have a donate now button on our Facebook currently. We are in the process with some help from a good friend of creating a website. But I am the only one that, or Aaron, that responds to our messages on Facebook. Um, so you can message us, you can even send us an email, the backwardsbackpack at gmail.com. Um But other than that, we we stuff the bags in our basement. We kind of have our own little process going there. So I mean, zero overheads. So the donations go all to the backpacks. Um, but we are having a big New Year's Eve event that the that you've all sponsored um at the tourism office as long as as well as the chamber. Um, but we will need volunteers at that event. We will need sponsors for that event. Um, and it's all about raising awareness.

SPEAKER_02:

So talking a little bit about the event, because that does that goes towards your nonprofit as well. So um, Aaron.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, this is the inaugural event. This is the first time. So as a chamber, we're always trying to evolve. And I probably should back up and say I've been on the board for about five years. I'm on the executive committee, and uh, we've seen what worked, we've seen what doesn't, uh, how many people like to come to certain events and not. Um, so we've actually taken two events that were not as successful last year and replaced those with the New Year's Eve event. What we hear all the time in Shelby County is there's nothing to do for New Year's Eve. And we said, why can't we be the catalyst for changing that? And so uh this is the first time we're gonna do this. We actually have a large band. It's like a seven, nine, ten-piece band. I don't know, it's a huge band. You've got brass, you've got percussion, you've got it all.

SPEAKER_02:

So that's exciting.

SPEAKER_01:

We decided to go a little bit bigger and really have a good time. Uh and so we're super excited. I know it's just started getting out there on social media, so you're gonna see it everywhere.

SPEAKER_02:

So you can't get tickets for that yet.

SPEAKER_01:

You actually can.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, you can.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So I don't remember the actual ticket price per individual. I know they're doing tables for a thousand, uh, tables of eight, but there are individual ticket sales as well. 85.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, fantastic.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so individuals can go, and uh 50% of the proceeds will come to the backwards backpack. So chamber will have some of those proceeds and us. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

That is so amazing. And I guess it'd be on the Chamber website, absolutely tickets, Facebook page.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Absolutely. And Mason, you asked a good question. I wanted to elaborate on what you said is what do you want the listeners to know? And the first thing I always say is you're not alone. I mean, that's really what we struggled with, is that you just feel like you're the only one doing this. And literally, from especially with level threes, from the time Mason wakes up until the time he goes to bed in a safety bed, it's where's Mason? What's he trying to escape? Is he trying to destroy something?

SPEAKER_00:

In his mouth.

SPEAKER_01:

Is he gonna choke on something? Yeah, so you constantly have to be on guard and being on all the time is exhausting. Yeah. And so I want people to know that we're available. And it's called a spectrum for a reason. Not every kid needs the same thing. We have a level one, we have a level three. Our level one is in a normal typical classroom in first grade, and he's doing really well. Uh, he needs a little bit extra support on some of his stuff, but doing very well. Uh, our other one, like I said, it's just a constant need for us to be able to intervene, keep him safe, those kind of things. So uh, and there's all stuff in between. So call us and tell us what you're struggling with, what you need help with, and we want to be the reason uh or the ability to connect some dots for you.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's sit down, have lunch. I've done that a couple of times in the past few months, just meeting people. And I'm always on the phone, even with people from national autism groups where they're, what have you done? What what's helped you? And I'm always eager to take a phone call and walk through that and talk to you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And that was another reason that we started this, is because she's on these moms groups and she's talked to people all over the country. She may be talking to somebody in Oregon that's struggling with something. And I said, We can do this in our own hometown too. And that was another reason for us to start the organization.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, because when our sons were diagnosed, it was the first we'd really heard about autism at all.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

No one in our family had autism. No one even talked about it. So I mean, we went through all those emotions together and Yeah, and we had two neurotypical daughters, right?

SPEAKER_01:

And so that it was all that we knew, and now there's this huge change. And I think something else that helps us be very well-rounded in this is that we've seen neurotypical and raised neurotypical kids into adulthood, and now we have kids on the spectrum. So we've seen it literally almost all of it. Uh, and we use those experiences to try to help other people.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, you both are amazing, and I love your caring hearts and and the mission for your nonprofit is amazing as well. Uh Mason, did you have any other questions?

SPEAKER_03:

No, uh just are there um a proportion of our listening audiences kind of based in this Kentucky Louisville area of Kentucky. If there are parents that are listening that maybe feel like they need some additional support or just they're curious, you know, about an autism assessment diagnosis type thing, where where do you start with that? Like how do you kind of go about that?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, there's only a couple places locally in Louisville that do diagnose. Um, there's a lot of qualifications that go into that. You can't just go to your regular pediatrician and get a diagnosis. There are centers. Um and the waiting lists are long. So I encourage you that that if you even think that your child might be on the spectrum to get that phone call made and get on that list. Um, because it what I last heard was that it's at least a year. Wow. Um, so you definitely want to call and get on that list right away. So, you know, you could always take yourself off later, but that's the first step. Um, this researching. I mean, I think there's two or three places locally that do diagnose, but they all have the waiting list very similar.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I would say do it early because people oftentimes think, well, this is just he's one year old. Yeah, he'll get past this. He's two. He's uh but we notice that he's not developing at the same rate as his peers. Get in there, especially with the waiting list, and let a professional at least give you their opinion on where they're at and start your journey from there.

SPEAKER_00:

And for our kids, I mean, just to put it in perspective, we um didn't really notice anything. And I would say that actually they were developing just as neurotypical children would until about two. And then they regressed, and that's when they lost their speech. Both of them did. Um, so those were kind of the big signs they wouldn't respond to their name, they wouldn't look at you, they didn't play peekaboo, they didn't make animal noises anymore, they didn't play with their toys like they used to. We lined everything up for us. Those were the big first things that kind of stuck out to us.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, thank you. Thank you both for being with us. It's a lot of great information. Um, I love it that people have a place to go. I'm glad that schools have changed over the years and that there's help there. But thank you for all you do. And um, hopefully people will reach out and uh definitely donate towards your great cause. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks for having us. We appreciate it so much.

SPEAKER_03:

Kentucky Hidden Wonders is a Shelby KY Tourism production. Your hosts are Janette Marson and Mason Moore. To learn more about Shelby KY Tourism and to start planning a visit, head to visitselbyky.com.

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Janette Marson

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Mason Warren

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