I’ll never forget the night , I set my son down during an evening little league game of his brothers and he started to wander off. I watched him intently knowing from past parenting experience that after going about 10 feet in the dark he would realize he was outside his comfort zone and begin running back to me. I could not have been more wrong. He took off across a dark empty field and never looked back. After watching in shock, I tore off after him.
Having your child wander off is one of the worst fears a parent will ever face. Unfortunately, it is a fear that parents of a child with autism face on a daily basis. Recognizing the need for practical solutions to keep children with autism safe, our friends at the National Autism Association painstakingly developed comprehensive tool kits for parents to help keep their children safe that are available as free downloads.
The caretaker toolkit includes important information like a caregiver checklist to make sure you have everything covered to keep your child safe such as an emergency wandering plan, information for first responders that you can share and information on how you can get tracking technology for your child. If you have not already done so please click here to download the caregiver toolkit and here to download a toolkit to share with your police department and first responders. For more information please go to www.awaare.org.
