Autism Normal

Last Sunday 8 year old Robbie Woods Jr. got separated from his father while out walking on a trail at North Anna Battlefield Park in Virginia.  Robbie is non-verbal and he has autism.  He was found alive yesterday after 6 days. 

I think this is probably every parent’s worst fear, their child getting lost and being unable to find them.  For the parents of a child with autism it is their worst nightmare.

We can teach our neurotypical children not to talk to strangers.  We can instruct them on what to do if they get lost, whether it’s at a shopping mall or in the woods.  My six year old knows that if we’re out and he gets lost, he should stay right where he is and that I’ll find him.  I’ve taught him who he should ask for help, he knows his name, my name and our phone number.   I can’t teach these types of things to my daughter.

Thankfully she doesn’t seem to be a wanderer or a runner but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to be vigilant.  This became crystal clear the day when I was in the basement and when I came upstairs I found her on the front lawn.  All our doors now have alarms and/or child locks so this doesn’t happen again.

When out in public she tends to stick close but she can get distracted so we have to keep our eyes on her at all times.  We also know that complacency is our biggest enemy so we are always on alert.

If she were to get separated from us she wouldn’t know to stop moving.  She would keep walking, and walking, and walking.  She might sit down if she got tired, but she’d be up and moving again as soon as she was rested.  She also wouldn’t respond if someone was calling her name.  You could walk right by her and she wouldn’t acknowledge you were there.  And if by chance someone did find her, she would not be able to tell them her name, my name or anything else. 

There are a number of items currently on the market that parents can purchase to help alleviate some of their fears and keep track of their children.

Adiant Solutions offers a GPS locator bracelet that has a lot of different features like locking bracelet, email and text notification, real-time locator, etc.

The Amber Alert GPS system is compact and can easily be clipped onto a backpack or threaded onto shoe laces.

If you’re planning a trip to an amusement park or the zoo, Safetytat might be something you want to consider.  While not a locator it allows you to “tattoo” your child with your contact information in case your child gets lost.

The Mommy I’m Here kid tracking device is originally designed for parents of toddlers but could definitely be useful for ensuring your child with autism doesn’t wander too far in busy stores or crowded places.  It has a 150 foot range and alerts an audible signal when your child is more than 15 feet away from the transmitter.

Of course, none of this of any use if your sensory defensive child decides to take off their shoes or their bracelet.  Or if your child decides to go for a walk at 3 am in their pajamas.

So for now I’ll just keep up my hyper-vigilance and sleep on the couch by the front door….just in case.

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I’m sitting here watching my daughter swim and play in the pool. The day is cloudy and overcast but that doesn’t stop her. I think she likes it because she has the pool to herself.

When we are looking at houses we’ve started looking at houses with pools. I dont know if I really want the expense and upkeep of a pool…but when I watch her swim and hear her laugh, its moving pretty high up the criteria list.

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