#38 - Wandering Precautions for Individuals with Special Needs
Wandering and elopement are stressful and scary scenarios that, unfortunately, can end tragically. Emily Diamond, a professor and researcher at the Wright Institute in Berkeley joins us to provide ways parents can take a proactive approach of putting plans in place so our loved one with disabilities can be found quickly should he or she go missing.
Mentioned in This Episode
(click to be directed to the web page)
Emily leads the International Autism Mapping Project exploring the correlation between environmental factors and the rise in autism
Wandering is not only isolated to one diagnosis although half of kids with autism will wander, or elope. This is different than bolting which has different prevention strategies.
AWAARE has a safety toolkit for parents, first responders, and teachers.
Wareable technology can be extremely useful. Emily shares her four favorite (angel sense, jiobit, amcrest, and loved one locator). Wareable.com is a great website listing a variety of options.
There are a variety of things parents can (should) be doing in preparation for a potential wandering situation. Emily rapid fires several.
Over 90% of deaths associated with wandering are because of water. Many YMCA branches offer adaptive swim classes.
There are places that should be checked as soon a loved one disappears. Emily talks to us about those places and how to canvas these areas quickly.
There are a few apps for first responders that can help deescalate situations.