I'm not the only person this has happened to either. You hear every day that a child with autism has wandered off and either drowns, gets hit by a car or is never seen from again. It's a horrible thing to think about so as parents we don't, we scoot it to the back of our head or we fast forward through that story on the news. But as parents of special needs kids we NEED to think about it. We really really really need to think about it. It's heartbreaking to open that door dreading that the police are going to be not knowing where your child is. This is a fear for neuro-typical kids but what happens when your son or daughter doesn't have words to give the police their phone number, their address or even their full name.
We try to prepare our autistic and special need kids for the day when we are not there, we try to stick by them when we are at the grocery store or at a park, but what about when they go to school? Or when the Grandparents have finally convinced you that they are ready to take on the responsibility. Or when they go on their first field trip, or even just a walk-a-thon at school.
After that day with Liam in the apartment garage I started looking for identity bracelets. My first thought was, "Liam would never leave those on," and indeed he didn't. The first bracelet I bought for him went down the toilet. Literally went down the toilet. Liam got it off and flushed it. The second was hidden inside his guitar that we didn't find for over a year.
After that I started getting more creative. There are tons of different options out there. We are not the only parents that have gone through this. I want to share with you the ones I have found the most useful.
The first one I got from The Big Red Box of Saftey. This is an AWESOME resource for parents or caregivers of children of autism. It comes with
- a checklist
- a family wandering emergency plan
- a sample IEP letter to give to your school
- a first responders form with such stuff as weight, height, hair color even a place to put a current photo
- a wandering prevention form
- (2) door/window alarms with batteries
- (1) RoadID plate for a shoe (comes with free engraving)
- (5) Laminated "Stop" Signs that you can put on doors and windows
- (1) Red band bracelet (I have autism!)
- (2) Car clings that lets first responders know you have a child with autism (in case of a car accident)
*The RoadID plate for the shoe is great if your kid will leave it on (mine will not!)
Second is Americanmedical-id.com . We tend to see these at pharmacies, They have the pad where you pull one off. You know the kind our Grandma and Grandpa's wear to let the doctor know they have diabetes. After the shoe one didn't work I tried going here and getting a fun, brightly colored bracelet that looks more like a watch then an emergency bracelet. However that's the one my son flushed. Until one day I was talking to them as I was ordering a new one and they asked if I had tried the kind that lock. There's a kind that lock?! Where's that one? And we have been with this one ever since.
In their search box you want to search safety hook clasp, my son who can get out of almost anything has yet to get out of this one. You can bathe with it, you can swim with it, you can even sleep in it. After awhile they stop even noticing it.
If for some reason they can get out of them, my last advice is a fake tattoo with your phone number written on it.
Good luck and stay safe!
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