Wandering is Scary for Autistic Families

For the last few years we've discussed the possibility of getting a family / service dog for the boys. Mostly to help keep track of Daniel, to keep him from wandering - help keep him close - or to find him if he does happen to slip away. We've researched many of the service dog programs, and to be honest, we couldn't afford most of them. There are many programs where you "fund raise" for 1/2 of the money, and the other 1/2 is donated, but it can still be as much as $13,000 or more.

We've gone back and forth on the topic of what's best for our family and when. We've tried a GPS monitor, but kept having different types of problems. We've gotten a handicap placard for when we go to a store, so we can park closer to the store - in hopes that if Daniel bolts, he won't run through the parking lot traffic if he bolts. We agreed that at some point we would most likely need to get him a service dog. Especially since he will bolt without a  second thought, and he is fast.

Like many autistic kiddos, he has no fear. No fear of traffic, no fear of something that draws his attention (which could be a shimmer on water), and no fear of people. He can't read facial or social cues, so he doesn't know that there may be someone out there who would have less than good intentions toward him. He may look at you after you call his name 5 or 10 times, but it doesn't mean that he'll come to you when you call. If you run after him because he's heading for a dangerous situation, he may think you're playing and start running too... away from you. These are just a few of the problems we parents of: wanderers, runners, or children with a "flight risk" - face every day.

As parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we've learned that you not only pick your battles with your kids (and your friends and family too), but you really have to weigh out what will get attention and when. For example, our boys have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and we are always being "updated" on the different programs that are happening, like soccer, gymnastics, etc. As much as I would love to put our little guys in these programs, there aren't enough hours in the day. They go to school for 29 hours a week, come home and have ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy for 11-1/2 hours a week. That's more than some people work in a week. At this point and time school and ABA win - hands down.

Recently there have been many young children with autism that have "gone missing" in the News. Some cases have happy endings, unfortunately many do not (one is too many to me). One case in particular has brought our attention back to the "dog" conversation and changed our minds about waiting. Avonte Oquendo - a 14 year old autistic boy, non-verbal, known to run. According to the news reports Avonte went missing on October 4, 2013 when he left his high school - unattended. Late January 2014 we learned he went home to Heaven, not to his parents. Many, many, many things went wrong that led to the death of this beautiful young man.

http://nypost.com/tag/avonte-oquendo/

We have agreed to get a dog and have it trained for our special needs and then have him licensed. After that we will again look into the GPS. As every parent knows, safety is of major importance in this day and age, no matter where you live. I'll keep you posted on how these things go.

From a mother's heart - having children on the spectrum makes you appreciate everything that your child learns and they remember. I pray that no child would ever go missing, and short of that - more people would become involved and help out the special needs members of their community to keep them safe.
God Bless!