Re: Autism and Emergency Responders

[Guest guest]

The autism society of collin county was started because of a very

tragic incident with police in Plano, Texas in 1995. Police officers

did not know anything about autism, they were called out to a

disturbance is a respite care facility and they shot and killed a

teenager with autism when he ran towards them with a butter knife and

would not stop when they asked him to (he was non verbal).

Ever since then, ASCC makes it a point to educate police and

emergency personnel about autism. We go to the police academy for

rookies and we also go to the class for special needs training in

Collin County once a month and join in a 2 hour panel of parents and

MHMR employees about autism and special needs, what these deficits

look like, how they present themselves and how best to deal with

individuals with these special needs etc... We've been doing this for

years. It's very important to us that our children are safe and

police officers understand our kids. There's also a program where

police can flag your house on their computers as having a child with

autism, and the information you want to put on there.

Nagla

>

> We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

> old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in

the

> kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

> lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then

all

> of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

> party.

> When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

> stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police,

and

> they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

came

> to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home,

in

> a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

> perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

area.

>

> This experience has taught us to have better security in our home

(we

> will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

responders

> (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

our

> son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

neighbors

> and emergency response centers.

> Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

>

> This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

> happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

everything

> possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

>

> Thanks for your comments,

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

What a frightening experience, indeed!

Our son (7) has been known to wander the house at night and in the past has

been caught attempting to go out the door in the middle of the night! Our

solution was a very simple, inexpensive item we purchased at Wal-Mart for

$10- door chimes. They are made by First Alert (package of 4), and it's

exactly the same thing that many retail stores use. One piece goes on the

door and one on the wall and when it comes apart due to a door opening, it

either makes a " ding-ding " sound or an annoyingly loud screeching noise. He

never goes out the door that I don't know it.

I'm thankful that your son was found and returned home safe.

Anne

-- Autism and Emergency Responders

We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in the

kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then all

of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

party.

When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police, and

they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They came

to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home, in

a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that area.

This experience has taught us to have better security in our home (we

will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency responders

(EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with our

son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our neighbors

and emergency response centers.

Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do everything

possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

Thanks for your comments,

Texas Autism Advocacy

www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

Texas Disability Network

Calendar of Events

www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

[Guest guest]

Frightening indeed. I am so relieved that your son was found fairly quickly,by a

neighbor and safe.I know that must have felt like an eternity for your family.

Not sure if someone else has mentioned this at all but they have fairly

inexpensive door alrms that you can get at Walmart or hardware store that sound

off when the door opens.In my house I have a sliding lock at the top of the door

(to high for my son to reach) which is a simple,inexpensive way to keep them

inside.

Stacey

Date: 2007/11/12 Mon PM 07:23:10 CST

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Autism and Emergency Responders

We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in the

kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then all

of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

party.

When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police, and

they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They came

to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home, in

a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that area.

This experience has taught us to have better security in our home (we

will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency responders

(EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with our

son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our neighbors

and emergency response centers.

Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do everything

possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

Thanks for your comments,

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for sharing this.My thought was whether there was a way for them

to identify addresses that had any occupants that are autistic and what their

medical conditions are (seizures etc) Although I live in CA right now,I'm going

to check with my fire dept as to whether we have this system to ,it really needs

to be in every state/county.

Stacey

Date: 2007/11/12 Mon PM 08:15:43 CST

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Autism and Emergency Responders

The autism society of collin county was started because of a very

tragic incident with police in Plano, Texas in 1995. Police officers

did not know anything about autism, they were called out to a

disturbance is a respite care facility and they shot and killed a

teenager with autism when he ran towards them with a butter knife and

would not stop when they asked him to (he was non verbal).

Ever since then, ASCC makes it a point to educate police and

emergency personnel about autism. We go to the police academy for

rookies and we also go to the class for special needs training in

Collin County once a month and join in a 2 hour panel of parents and

MHMR employees about autism and special needs, what these deficits

look like, how they present themselves and how best to deal with

individuals with these special needs etc... We've been doing this for

years. It's very important to us that our children are safe and

police officers understand our kids. There's also a program where

police can flag your house on their computers as having a child with

autism, and the information you want to put on there.

Nagla

>

> We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

> old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in

the

> kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

> lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then

all

> of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

> party.

> When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

> stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police,

and

> they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

came

> to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home,

in

> a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

> perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

area.

>

> This experience has taught us to have better security in our home

(we

> will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

responders

> (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

our

> son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

neighbors

> and emergency response centers.

> Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

>

> This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

> happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

everything

> possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

>

> Thanks for your comments,

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello,

EVERYONE!!! DO NOT COUNT ON DEADBOLT LOCKS TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE!!!

I am so sorry for your scare. This exact same thing happened to us 3

years ago! Don't hide the keys get a different lock. We use Unican locks

that have mechanical push button locks that we installed on the inside

of the doors. Also having a door that closes automatically is helpful I

think there is a spring type device at Home Depot? We used a Life Track

ankle bracelet for awhile but it uses a radio frequency and we live very

close to a fire station, it also would go off around the microwave. I'm

waiting for a GPS they will let me install under his skin or a small one

he can wear like a watch. We also bought a therapy dog a Goldendoodle

who we have yet to train for search and rescue but he does bark when

Matt goes outside and follows him everywhere. I would also warn you that

you may get a visit from CPS the police reported me because my son

escaped my home. My other 2 children where questioned at school without

me knowing and I only found out when my friends called and wanted to

know why they were hugging each other and crying in the hallway. They

were 5th and Kindergarten at the time and they were traumatized by the

questions and the fear that someone was going to take their brother

away. I got so angry at a neighbor who worked for CPS and justified

their invasive scare tactics to go behind my back and traumatize my

children that she didn't speak to me for 2 years and moved. I still hate

CPS they had no recommendations for me and sent out two young college

kids to inspect my home and ask me if I did drugs. My husband had to

tell me to be nice. CPS has a lot more power than you might think,

make sure you were not reported. Trina

> We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

> old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in the

> kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

> lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then all

> of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

> party.

> When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

> stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police, and

> they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They came

> to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home, in

> a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

> perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that area.

>

> This experience has taught us to have better security in our home (we

> will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency responders

> (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with our

> son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our neighbors

> and emergency response centers.

> Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

>

> This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

> happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do everything

> possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

>

> Thanks for your comments,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Until he stacks up books or chairs to reach the lock like my son

did......and the Walmart alarm he turned it off.....

>

> Frightening indeed. I am so relieved that your son was found fairly

> quickly,by a neighbor and safe.I know that must have felt like an

> eternity for your family. Not sure if someone else has mentioned this

> at all but they have fairly inexpensive door alrms that you can get at

> Walmart or hardware store that sound off when the door opens.In my

> house I have a sliding lock at the top of the door (to high for my son

> to reach) which is a simple,inexpensive way to keep them inside.

>

> Stacey

>

> From: lhryden <lhryden@... <mailto:lhryden%40yahoo.com>>

> Date: 2007/11/12 Mon PM 07:23:10 CST

> To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> <mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com>

> Subject: Autism and Emergency Responders

>

> We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

> old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in the

> kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

> lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then all

> of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

> party.

> When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

> stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police, and

> they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They came

> to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home, in

> a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

> perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that area.

>

> This experience has taught us to have better security in our home (we

> will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency responders

> (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with our

> son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our neighbors

> and emergency response centers.

> Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

>

> This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

> happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do everything

> possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

>

> Thanks for your comments,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Fortunately we have not had an incident like this happen to us but

just to be on the safe side we have our son wearing a GPS watch all

the time and if he goes further than the perimeter ew have set an

alarm goes off and alrts us that he has left the stablished perimeter.

just for peace of mind I recomed to use teh GPA watches.

Just on etime some one left the gate open and our son walked through

setting the alrm off an my wife went to get him before he could even

get to the street. Just for that ocation the gps watch already paid

for its self if you condider our pece of mind.

>

> We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven year

> old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in

the

> kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him being

> lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then

all

> of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a search

> party.

> When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I was

> stunned at this question. She said she would send out the police,

and

> they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

came

> to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our home,

in

> a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are still

> perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

area.

>

> This experience has taught us to have better security in our home

(we

> will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

responders

> (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

our

> son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

neighbors

> and emergency response centers.

> Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

>

> This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have a

> happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

everything

> possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

>

> Thanks for your comments,

>

>

[Guest guest]

At the National Autism Association conference last weekend, there

were two presentations on this topic.

One was called " Project Lifesaver " and is a program that has gone

into many communities to protect citizens who might be " wanderers "

(mostly Alzheimers and autism).

Basically, the initial purchase (which is usually procured through

fundraising) is about $8,000 (not for the family -- for the

community) and includes two receivers and two transmitters. The

transmitters are worn 24-7 and are worn like watches, though

innovative thinking can help you with sensitive individuals who don't

want to wear it. They have about a one-mile range, though it can be

further in flat territory. When a person wanders, the Project

Lifesaver providers (usually a local fire department or police

department) are notified and they immediately dispatch the receivers

to the last known location. The speaker told us thus far they have

100 percent success rate in recovering individuals.

One mile might not seem far, but of course they can travel around

with the receiver to hone in on the individual. They can also use it

in a helicopter if necessary. In the case of chilren with autism,

normally they are on foot and they can be located quickly. In the

case of Alzheimers, they might have driven which makes it a bit

harder.

He gave figures on how much is costs to conduct searchers, and of

course the tragic cost of an unsuccessful search we all know too well.

I'm planning to present this to the Ft. Bend County Sheriff and other

local officials. They can purchase additional transmitters ($300)

and say often local businesses will sponsor a participant.

I don't know much about GPS, except that there can be problems

finding the signal if they are indoors somewhere, in a closet for

instance. I know in NYC, we abandoned using our GPS because we could

rarely get a signal because of the buildings, etc., even when we were

outside.

Anyway, if you are interested in looking into this for your

community, feel free to email me. If we could get these in many

communities, even better. When a search is called, often nearby

Project Lifesaver teams come in with their extra receivers and help

with the search.

The second presenter I missed, but I'm going to look into it. It is

a man who goes around the country training first responders. I met

him at dinner and he seemed to know his stuff (father of an affected

child).

Regards,

-- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy , " Enrique "

wrote:

>

> Fortunately we have not had an incident like this happen to us but

> just to be on the safe side we have our son wearing a GPS watch all

> the time and if he goes further than the perimeter ew have set an

> alarm goes off and alrts us that he has left the stablished

perimeter.

>

> just for peace of mind I recomed to use teh GPA watches.

>

> Just on etime some one left the gate open and our son walked

through

> setting the alrm off an my wife went to get him before he could

even

> get to the street. Just for that ocation the gps watch already paid

> for its self if you condider our pece of mind.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> >

> > We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven

year

> > old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in

> the

> > kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him

being

> > lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then

> all

> > of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a

search

> > party.

> > When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> > and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I

was

> > stunned at this question. She said she would send out the

police,

> and

> > they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> > Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

> came

> > to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> > street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our

home,

> in

> > a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are

still

> > perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

> area.

> >

> > This experience has taught us to have better security in our home

> (we

> > will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> > interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

> responders

> > (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

> our

> > son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

> neighbors

> > and emergency response centers.

> > Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

> >

> > This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have

a

> > happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> > children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

> everything

> > possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

> >

> > Thanks for your comments,

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

This is what we have and it does not work. Like I mentioned it goes off

upstairs, it goes off at odd times and it is very difficult to track in

hilly areas or thick brush. The radio transmitter does not work around

fire stations due to the frequency I would also include radio or cell

phone towers. The " watch " is bulky and unattractive. But the worst thing

is it doesn't work like they claim at least not here and not when we go

RVing in wooded areas. I spent $1,500 and worked with them for a year

and could never get the thing to quit going off unexpectedly for no

reason. I like the satellite system like they use for cars, if they

could put that in a nice looking watch I'd be interested. Just wanted to

let you all know since this is expensive item. Trina

>

> At the National Autism Association conference last weekend, there

> were two presentations on this topic.

>

> One was called " Project Lifesaver " and is a program that has gone

> into many communities to protect citizens who might be " wanderers "

> (mostly Alzheimers and autism).

>

> Basically, the initial purchase (which is usually procured through

> fundraising) is about $8,000 (not for the family -- for the

> community) and includes two receivers and two transmitters. The

> transmitters are worn 24-7 and are worn like watches, though

> innovative thinking can help you with sensitive individuals who don't

> want to wear it. They have about a one-mile range, though it can be

> further in flat territory. When a person wanders, the Project

> Lifesaver providers (usually a local fire department or police

> department) are notified and they immediately dispatch the receivers

> to the last known location. The speaker told us thus far they have

> 100 percent success rate in recovering individuals.

>

> One mile might not seem far, but of course they can travel around

> with the receiver to hone in on the individual. They can also use it

> in a helicopter if necessary. In the case of chilren with autism,

> normally they are on foot and they can be located quickly. In the

> case of Alzheimers, they might have driven which makes it a bit

> harder.

>

> He gave figures on how much is costs to conduct searchers, and of

> course the tragic cost of an unsuccessful search we all know too well.

>

> I'm planning to present this to the Ft. Bend County Sheriff and other

> local officials. They can purchase additional transmitters ($300)

> and say often local businesses will sponsor a participant.

>

> I don't know much about GPS, except that there can be problems

> finding the signal if they are indoors somewhere, in a closet for

> instance. I know in NYC, we abandoned using our GPS because we could

> rarely get a signal because of the buildings, etc., even when we were

> outside.

>

> Anyway, if you are interested in looking into this for your

> community, feel free to email me. If we could get these in many

> communities, even better. When a search is called, often nearby

> Project Lifesaver teams come in with their extra receivers and help

> with the search.

>

> The second presenter I missed, but I'm going to look into it. It is

> a man who goes around the country training first responders. I met

> him at dinner and he seemed to know his stuff (father of an affected

> child).

>

> Regards,

> -- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> <mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com>, " Enrique "

> wrote:

> >

> > Fortunately we have not had an incident like this happen to us but

> > just to be on the safe side we have our son wearing a GPS watch all

> > the time and if he goes further than the perimeter ew have set an

> > alarm goes off and alrts us that he has left the stablished

> perimeter.

> >

> > just for peace of mind I recomed to use teh GPA watches.

> >

> > Just on etime some one left the gate open and our son walked

> through

> > setting the alrm off an my wife went to get him before he could

> even

> > get to the street. Just for that ocation the gps watch already paid

> > for its self if you condider our pece of mind.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > >

> > > We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven

> year

> > > old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in

> > the

> > > kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him

> being

> > > lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then

> > all

> > > of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a

> search

> > > party.

> > > When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> > > and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I

> was

> > > stunned at this question. She said she would send out the

> police,

> > and

> > > they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> > > Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

> > came

> > > to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> > > street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our

> home,

> > in

> > > a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are

> still

> > > perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

> > area.

> > >

> > > This experience has taught us to have better security in our home

> > (we

> > > will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> > > interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

> > responders

> > > (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

> > our

> > > son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

> > neighbors

> > > and emergency response centers.

> > > Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

> > >

> > > This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have

> a

> > > happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> > > children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

> > everything

> > > possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

> > >

> > > Thanks for your comments,

> > >

> > >

> >

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you everyone who responded to us with so much

valuable information. We are not sure that our son

would wear a GPS watch, and not positive that he would

not remove it if he were lost. However, we are

looking into all possibilities to prevent this from

happening again.

Thanks much,

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Get easy, one-click access to your favorites.

Make Yahoo! your homepage.

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[Guest guest]

Sounds like the second presenter might have been Dennis Debbaut.

http://www.policeandautism.cjb.net

If so, he was in Texas a few years ago. I think Nagla’s group (ASA Collin

County) hosted him. He also hosts a Yahoo group at

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Risk-Safety

Tonya

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of

Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:41 AM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Autism and Emergency Responders

At the National Autism Association conference last weekend, there

were two presentations on this topic.

One was called " Project Lifesaver " and is a program that has gone

into many communities to protect citizens who might be " wanderers "

(mostly Alzheimers and autism).

Basically, the initial purchase (which is usually procured through

fundraising) is about $8,000 (not for the family -- for the

community) and includes two receivers and two transmitters. The

transmitters are worn 24-7 and are worn like watches, though

innovative thinking can help you with sensitive individuals who don't

want to wear it. They have about a one-mile range, though it can be

further in flat territory. When a person wanders, the Project

Lifesaver providers (usually a local fire department or police

department) are notified and they immediately dispatch the receivers

to the last known location. The speaker told us thus far they have

100 percent success rate in recovering individuals.

One mile might not seem far, but of course they can travel around

with the receiver to hone in on the individual. They can also use it

in a helicopter if necessary. In the case of chilren with autism,

normally they are on foot and they can be located quickly. In the

case of Alzheimers, they might have driven which makes it a bit

harder.

He gave figures on how much is costs to conduct searchers, and of

course the tragic cost of an unsuccessful search we all know too well.

I'm planning to present this to the Ft. Bend County Sheriff and other

local officials. They can purchase additional transmitters ($300)

and say often local businesses will sponsor a participant.

I don't know much about GPS, except that there can be problems

finding the signal if they are indoors somewhere, in a closet for

instance. I know in NYC, we abandoned using our GPS because we could

rarely get a signal because of the buildings, etc., even when we were

outside.

Anyway, if you are interested in looking into this for your

community, feel free to email me. If we could get these in many

communities, even better. When a search is called, often nearby

Project Lifesaver teams come in with their extra receivers and help

with the search.

The second presenter I missed, but I'm going to look into it. It is

a man who goes around the country training first responders. I met

him at dinner and he seemed to know his stuff (father of an affected

child).

Regards,

-- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy

<mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com> , " Enrique "

wrote:

>

> Fortunately we have not had an incident like this happen to us but

> just to be on the safe side we have our son wearing a GPS watch all

> the time and if he goes further than the perimeter ew have set an

> alarm goes off and alrts us that he has left the stablished

perimeter.

>

> just for peace of mind I recomed to use teh GPA watches.

>

> Just on etime some one left the gate open and our son walked

through

> setting the alrm off an my wife went to get him before he could

even

> get to the street. Just for that ocation the gps watch already paid

> for its self if you condider our pece of mind.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> >

> > We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven

year

> > old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were in

> the

> > kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him

being

> > lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911, then

> all

> > of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a

search

> > party.

> > When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> > and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I

was

> > stunned at this question. She said she would send out the

police,

> and

> > they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> > Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

> came

> > to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a busy

> > street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our

home,

> in

> > a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are

still

> > perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

> area.

> >

> > This experience has taught us to have better security in our home

> (we

> > will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also are

> > interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

> responders

> > (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

> our

> > son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

> neighbors

> > and emergency response centers.

> > Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

> >

> > This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to have

a

> > happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> > children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

> everything

> > possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

> >

> > Thanks for your comments,

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Trina, just curious, did they give you your own personal receiver and

transmitter? The talked like this was for organizations, I didn't

know you could purchase them separately.

Also, very disappointing to hear your experience. They made it sound

almost fool-proof. Thanks for the feedback.

Regards,

-- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy , and Trina Sherman

wrote:

>

> This is what we have and it does not work. Like I mentioned it goes

off

> upstairs, it goes off at odd times and it is very difficult to

track in

> hilly areas or thick brush. The radio transmitter does not work

around

> fire stations due to the frequency I would also include radio or

cell

> phone towers. The " watch " is bulky and unattractive. But the worst

thing

> is it doesn't work like they claim at least not here and not when

we go

> RVing in wooded areas. I spent $1,500 and worked with them for a

year

> and could never get the thing to quit going off unexpectedly for no

> reason. I like the satellite system like they use for cars, if they

> could put that in a nice looking watch I'd be interested. Just

wanted to

> let you all know since this is expensive item. Trina

> >

> > At the National Autism Association conference last weekend, there

> > were two presentations on this topic.

> >

> > One was called " Project Lifesaver " and is a program that has gone

> > into many communities to protect citizens who might be " wanderers "

> > (mostly Alzheimers and autism).

> >

> > Basically, the initial purchase (which is usually procured through

> > fundraising) is about $8,000 (not for the family -- for the

> > community) and includes two receivers and two transmitters. The

> > transmitters are worn 24-7 and are worn like watches, though

> > innovative thinking can help you with sensitive individuals who

don't

> > want to wear it. They have about a one-mile range, though it can

be

> > further in flat territory. When a person wanders, the Project

> > Lifesaver providers (usually a local fire department or police

> > department) are notified and they immediately dispatch the

receivers

> > to the last known location. The speaker told us thus far they have

> > 100 percent success rate in recovering individuals.

> >

> > One mile might not seem far, but of course they can travel around

> > with the receiver to hone in on the individual. They can also use

it

> > in a helicopter if necessary. In the case of chilren with autism,

> > normally they are on foot and they can be located quickly. In the

> > case of Alzheimers, they might have driven which makes it a bit

> > harder.

> >

> > He gave figures on how much is costs to conduct searchers, and of

> > course the tragic cost of an unsuccessful search we all know too

well.

> >

> > I'm planning to present this to the Ft. Bend County Sheriff and

other

> > local officials. They can purchase additional transmitters ($300)

> > and say often local businesses will sponsor a participant.

> >

> > I don't know much about GPS, except that there can be problems

> > finding the signal if they are indoors somewhere, in a closet for

> > instance. I know in NYC, we abandoned using our GPS because we

could

> > rarely get a signal because of the buildings, etc., even when we

were

> > outside.

> >

> > Anyway, if you are interested in looking into this for your

> > community, feel free to email me. If we could get these in many

> > communities, even better. When a search is called, often nearby

> > Project Lifesaver teams come in with their extra receivers and

help

> > with the search.

> >

> > The second presenter I missed, but I'm going to look into it. It

is

> > a man who goes around the country training first responders. I met

> > him at dinner and he seemed to know his stuff (father of an

affected

> > child).

> >

> > Regards,

> > -- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> > <mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com>, " Enrique "

> > <gedutilly@> wrote:

> > >

> > > Fortunately we have not had an incident like this happen to us

but

> > > just to be on the safe side we have our son wearing a GPS watch

all

> > > the time and if he goes further than the perimeter ew have set

an

> > > alarm goes off and alrts us that he has left the stablished

> > perimeter.

> > >

> > > just for peace of mind I recomed to use teh GPA watches.

> > >

> > > Just on etime some one left the gate open and our son walked

> > through

> > > setting the alrm off an my wife went to get him before he could

> > even

> > > get to the street. Just for that ocation the gps watch already

paid

> > > for its self if you condider our pece of mind.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > >

> > > > We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven

> > year

> > > > old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were

in

> > > the

> > > > kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him

> > being

> > > > lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911,

then

> > > all

> > > > of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a

> > search

> > > > party.

> > > > When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> > > > and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I

> > was

> > > > stunned at this question. She said she would send out the

> > police,

> > > and

> > > > they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> > > > Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch.

They

> > > came

> > > > to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a

busy

> > > > street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our

> > home,

> > > in

> > > > a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are

> > still

> > > > perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to

that

> > > area.

> > > >

> > > > This experience has taught us to have better security in our

home

> > > (we

> > > > will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also

are

> > > > interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

> > > responders

> > > > (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers

with

> > > our

> > > > son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

> > > neighbors

> > > > and emergency response centers.

> > > > Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

> > > >

> > > > This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to

have

> > a

> > > > happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> > > > children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

> > > everything

> > > > possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for your comments,

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, it was. Again, I missed his presentation but talked to him at

dinner. I thought the training sounded a bit pricey but I don't know

what you get for it.

Regards,

> > >

> > > We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven

> year

> > > old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were

in

> > the

> > > kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him

> being

> > > lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911,

then

> > all

> > > of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a

> search

> > > party.

> > > When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> > > and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I

> was

> > > stunned at this question. She said she would send out the

> police,

> > and

> > > they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> > > Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch. They

> > came

> > > to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a

busy

> > > street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our

> home,

> > in

> > > a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are

> still

> > > perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to that

> > area.

> > >

> > > This experience has taught us to have better security in our

home

> > (we

> > > will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also

are

> > > interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

> > responders

> > > (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers with

> > our

> > > son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

> > neighbors

> > > and emergency response centers.

> > > Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

> > >

> > > This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to

have

> a

> > > happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> > > children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

> > everything

> > > possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

> > >

> > > Thanks for your comments,

> > >

> > >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yes I have my own receiver and tracking antenna as well as the ankle

bracelet. Wanna buy it? They said because I live in a wooded area this

is why I cannot track very far (like a block is about all and this is

not in the woods just down my street) and that the fire station and

radio towers are a problem as well. I wish it worked I tried working

with them for over a year and despite their efforts it just was not

working for us. I never bothered trying to get the police station on

board but I know they said you could.

>

> Trina, just curious, did they give you your own personal receiver and

> transmitter? The talked like this was for organizations, I didn't

> know you could purchase them separately.

>

> Also, very disappointing to hear your experience. They made it sound

> almost fool-proof. Thanks for the feedback.

>

> Regards,

>

> -- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> <mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com>, and Trina Sherman

> wrote:

> >

> > This is what we have and it does not work. Like I mentioned it goes

> off

> > upstairs, it goes off at odd times and it is very difficult to

> track in

> > hilly areas or thick brush. The radio transmitter does not work

> around

> > fire stations due to the frequency I would also include radio or

> cell

> > phone towers. The " watch " is bulky and unattractive. But the worst

> thing

> > is it doesn't work like they claim at least not here and not when

> we go

> > RVing in wooded areas. I spent $1,500 and worked with them for a

> year

> > and could never get the thing to quit going off unexpectedly for no

> > reason. I like the satellite system like they use for cars, if they

> > could put that in a nice looking watch I'd be interested. Just

> wanted to

> > let you all know since this is expensive item. Trina

> > >

> > > At the National Autism Association conference last weekend, there

> > > were two presentations on this topic.

> > >

> > > One was called " Project Lifesaver " and is a program that has gone

> > > into many communities to protect citizens who might be " wanderers "

> > > (mostly Alzheimers and autism).

> > >

> > > Basically, the initial purchase (which is usually procured through

> > > fundraising) is about $8,000 (not for the family -- for the

> > > community) and includes two receivers and two transmitters. The

> > > transmitters are worn 24-7 and are worn like watches, though

> > > innovative thinking can help you with sensitive individuals who

> don't

> > > want to wear it. They have about a one-mile range, though it can

> be

> > > further in flat territory. When a person wanders, the Project

> > > Lifesaver providers (usually a local fire department or police

> > > department) are notified and they immediately dispatch the

> receivers

> > > to the last known location. The speaker told us thus far they have

> > > 100 percent success rate in recovering individuals.

> > >

> > > One mile might not seem far, but of course they can travel around

> > > with the receiver to hone in on the individual. They can also use

> it

> > > in a helicopter if necessary. In the case of chilren with autism,

> > > normally they are on foot and they can be located quickly. In the

> > > case of Alzheimers, they might have driven which makes it a bit

> > > harder.

> > >

> > > He gave figures on how much is costs to conduct searchers, and of

> > > course the tragic cost of an unsuccessful search we all know too

> well.

> > >

> > > I'm planning to present this to the Ft. Bend County Sheriff and

> other

> > > local officials. They can purchase additional transmitters ($300)

> > > and say often local businesses will sponsor a participant.

> > >

> > > I don't know much about GPS, except that there can be problems

> > > finding the signal if they are indoors somewhere, in a closet for

> > > instance. I know in NYC, we abandoned using our GPS because we

> could

> > > rarely get a signal because of the buildings, etc., even when we

> were

> > > outside.

> > >

> > > Anyway, if you are interested in looking into this for your

> > > community, feel free to email me. If we could get these in many

> > > communities, even better. When a search is called, often nearby

> > > Project Lifesaver teams come in with their extra receivers and

> help

> > > with the search.

> > >

> > > The second presenter I missed, but I'm going to look into it. It

> is

> > > a man who goes around the country training first responders. I met

> > > him at dinner and he seemed to know his stuff (father of an

> affected

> > > child).

> > >

> > > Regards,

> > > -- In Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> <mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com>

> > > <mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy%40yahoogroups.com>, " Enrique "

> > > <gedutilly@> wrote:

> > > >

> > > > Fortunately we have not had an incident like this happen to us

> but

> > > > just to be on the safe side we have our son wearing a GPS watch

> all

> > > > the time and if he goes further than the perimeter ew have set

> an

> > > > alarm goes off and alrts us that he has left the stablished

> > > perimeter.

> > > >

> > > > just for peace of mind I recomed to use teh GPA watches.

> > > >

> > > > Just on etime some one left the gate open and our son walked

> > > through

> > > > setting the alrm off an my wife went to get him before he could

> > > even

> > > > get to the street. Just for that ocation the gps watch already

> paid

> > > > for its self if you condider our pece of mind.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > >

> > > > > We had a very frightening incident this evening when our seven

> > > year

> > > > > old son unlocked the front door and disappeared while we were

> in

> > > > the

> > > > > kitchen. It was quickly becoming dark, and every fear of him

> > > being

> > > > > lost at night was in our minds as we frantically called 911,

> then

> > > > all

> > > > > of the neighbors which we have phone numbers for to start a

> > > search

> > > > > party.

> > > > > When I called 911, the operator struggled with what " autistic "

> > > > > and " nonverbal " meant. She asked if I needed a dispatch, and I

> > > was

> > > > > stunned at this question. She said she would send out the

> > > police,

> > > > and

> > > > > they arrived 15 minutes later with our son, thankfully.

> > > > > Interestingly, the police never received the 911 dispatch.

> They

> > > > came

> > > > > to our home because a neighbor found our son wandering on a

> busy

> > > > > street darting between cars. He was found two miles from our

> > > home,

> > > > in

> > > > > a part of our neighborhood that he has never visited. We are

> > > still

> > > > > perplexed as to where he was going, and why he ventured to

> that

> > > > area.

> > > > >

> > > > > This experience has taught us to have better security in our

> home

> > > > (we

> > > > > will have to hide all of the keys to the deadbolts). We also

> are

> > > > > interested in knowing if anyone has educated the emergency

> > > > responders

> > > > > (EMS, police, fire dept) on autism? We plan to make flyers

> with

> > > > our

> > > > > son's picture and our address and distribute to all of our

> > > > neighbors

> > > > > and emergency response centers.

> > > > > Has anyone had luck with the GPS bracelets?

> > > > >

> > > > > This experience was very frightening and we were blessed to

> have

> > > a

> > > > > happy ending. We have read the stories in the news of autistic

> > > > > children who have not been recovered alive, and want to do

> > > > everything

> > > > > possible to ensure this does not happen to any of our kids.

> > > > >

> > > > > Thanks for your comments,

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

>