PA Man Spreads Autism Awareness In Bensalem Township

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Alex Mann is continuing the journey.

For five years now, the 23-year-old Malvern resident has traveled across five states spreading the message of his mission to raise awareness about autism.

He usually visits police departments and Mann recently crossed another off his list with a stop at the Bensalem Police Department last week.

"Bensalem Police would like to thank Alex Mann for stopping by our police department to bring autism awareness to our first responders," Bensalem Police said of Mann's Sept. 20 visit. "We are proud to be one of the 400 law enforcement agencies that Alex has visited to spread autism awareness."

Mann said he returned to Bensalem to meet William McVey, the township's director of public safety.

"He's a great guy," Mann told Patch.

Mann said he's now visited 424 police departments in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and California.

Mann, who is diagnosed with autism, started his journey in October 2018. He usually spends about a half hour or so taking a tour of the police department, seeing the police cars, meeting police officers, and offering them some tips and advice.

"I really just had an idea that I wanted to show police I was there for them," Mann told Patch. "I wanted to educate them on how they can interact better with people in the spectrum."