SAFETY TIPS AND TOOLS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM
1/ IDENTIFICATION
In
order to ensure everyone’s safety, it is crucial that law enforcement and first
responders know that your child or ward has autism and might not react as asked.
Here are some products currently available on the market:
- ID
bracelets, jewelry or tags. There are several websites that sell these products,
from brightly colored silicone bracelets that are embossed with the word autism
in large letters to shoe tags that attach to the laces. Some of the websites
that sell these products are www.AlertMeBands.com, www.FundraisingForACause.com/Autism, www.StickyJ.com, www.SafeID.com, www.medical-id-bracelets.com.
·
ID card for wallet which
will alert authorities that this individual has autism and who to contact.
Caution: This is carried in the wallet, so the individual must be taught to
tell police to pull out their wallet instead of the individual doing it themselves.
Three of the sites I have found are: www.autismalertwilts.com, www.autismidcard.com, www.wayshelter.com. Wayshelter offers a free
downloadable version.
·
Autism Alert decals for car and/or house window.
These will alert law enforcement and first responders that they are dealing
with an individual with autism.
·
Autism
alert seatbelt covers.
If cover is removed, first responders will find information about the
individual with autism. Especially helpful for non-verbal individuals.
You can also make your own tools to help your child understand and deal with
encounters with law enforcement. Here are a few:
·
Make your own hand-out card. At the top, in bright,
capital letters, write I HAVE AUTISM, then include information that might be
helpful (ie: doesn’t like to be touched), and contact information so parents,
guardians or caregivers can be reached immediately.
·
Create
a card with the phone numbers of your
advocacy organization or personal lawyer that you, caregivers and/or individuals
on the spectrum carry on their person, in case you are detained by police.
·
Teach your child how to act and
handle themselves when confronted by law enforcement (ie: show your hands) and
repeat these situational stories until your child fully knows what to do if
stopped by police (a bit like fire drills at school). Above all, teach your
child that police and first responders are there to help and are your friends.
Teach them not to be afraid of them, but also reinforce the fact that police
expect certain actions and reactions from all people and he/she must abide by
those requirements (ie: it is not okay to hit a police officer or first
responder, no matter how anxious or scared you are). The more you educate your
child or ward, the better they will learn and respond to instructions when
faced with police or first responders.
2/ SAFETY PRODUCTS
If you contact www.NationalAutismAssociation.org and request their
Big Red Safety Box, they will send you one free of charge. These boxes contain:
·
A caregiver checklist
·
A Family Wandering Emergency
Plan
·
A first-responder profile form
·
A wandering-prevention
brochure
·
A sample IEP Letter
·
A Student Profile Form
·
Emotion Identification Cards
·
Wandering Quick Tips
2)
Two (2) GE Wireless Door/Window Alarms with batteries
3)
One (1) RoadID Personalized, Engraved Shoe ID Tag*
4)
Five (5) Adhesive Stop Sign Visual Prompts for doors and windows
5)
Two (2) Safety Alert Window Clings for car or home windows
6)
One (1) Red Safety Alert Wristband
7)
One (1) Child ID Kit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children
You can also
purchase wearable GPS tracking devices
to help locate your child or ward if he or she wanders. There are too many
websites to list them here.
Or, the Care Trak Agency System offers
telemetry tracking which is different from PGS tracking. It is a mobile
tracking unit that can find an individual wearing a transmitter, up to a mile
away. www.caretrack.com.
BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION; If you know of any other products or services, please let me know. Have you used any of these products? Which ones worked and which ones didn't?
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