Autism program helps parents, officials and children to deal with emergency situations

DOVER, NH — It's a scenario that every parent of child with autism dreads.

Suddenly you're involved in some sort of accident, and your child is alone and confused and could be easily startled by the presence of emergency personnel.

It's a scenario that many in the community with autistic children are beginning to prepare for.

Six area families, including four from Dover, signed up for the Easter Seals Autism Awareness 911 program during an open house last Thursday night outside of the McConnell Center. The program allows for parents to fill out a profile of their child, which is then forwarded to the city or local dispatch centers so those homes with autistic children can be flagged for police, fire and emergency personnel.

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Information also is forwarded to New Hampshire 911 to flag the phone number.

During Thursday's event, several autistic children had a chance to interact with firefighters and police officers, along with some of their equipment and apparatus.

Dover resident Marie Berman said the event was the perfect opportunity to familiarize her 6-year-old daughter with firefighters and their equipment.

"It's good for her to learn that if she is in danger, these are the people that can help," Berman said.

Berman's daughter has sensory issues and gets scared by loud noises and crowded places. Berman said it's good for her to be around the fire trucks and police cars, so she could hear the sirens.

"It helps her to not be afraid," Berman said.

Elizabeth Webster, who founded the program with her partner Dawn Brady, said the two have worked with police in Manchester and Concord. They hope to spread the program throughout the state.

The next autism event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 13 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the McConnell Center.

Article published Jun 6, 2008 - Fosters.com

Device helps parents of autistic children who may wander off

By JILL MOON

MURPHYSBORO - A Southern Illinois company keeps up with the times by helping parents of autistic children.

Now that one in 150 children are diagnosed with autism, Care Trak caters to parents with a tracking device for their children who are prone to "bolt and run." Care Trak, which grew from its parent company, Wildlife Materials, that makes animal tracking systems, sells a portable, electronic device so parents can find their children if they run off.

Each year, thousands of autistic youngsters take off running, leaving their parents panicked and frantic.

"Care Trak focuses on serving these parents and caregivers of autistic kids," said Mike Chylewski, Care Trak's vice president of operations.
"Because autistic kids have limited or no fear of danger and have a high tolerance for pain, parents are understandably frantic to find their child. Care Trak is a source of action and calm in what is otherwise a frightening and urgent situation."

The Care Trak device is a telemetry-based tracking receiver that electronically tracks lost persons who are wearing the 1-ounce transmitter. Care Trak also supplies devices for Alzheimer's and dementia sufferers but sells directly only to parents of autistic children because of regular use by these parents.

Care Trak's co-owner, Richard Blanchard, explained that dementia patients wander off less often than autistic children and Blanchard would rather caregivers of dementia patients call local law enforcement immediately than try to operate unfamiliar equipment under duress and worry.

"With Alzheimer's, the caregiver is more often elderly themselves and the technology of using the equipment is more confusing," Blanchard said. "It's fairly easy to use, but under the pressure of a loved one being gone, it's harder to pull this equipment out of a closet and use it."

Whereas, caregivers of autistic children tend to be younger and well versed in electronic technology, he said. And the equipment is used more frequently with autistic children who go to school, crowded events, parks, shopping with parents and many other outings on a regular basis. Law enforcement agencies also would have a receiver of the clients with autistic children, yet parents would have their own receiver.

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"We view selling to parents directly as a win-win for all," Blanchard said. "Caregivers and parents have peace of mind and sheriff's departments and police organizations don't have to spend a lot of time and money to search."

The device helps locate individuals typically within 20 to 30 minutes, he noted.

"We prefer to talk to people first to find out how they'll use it and what their needs are," he said. "When we sell equipment, we don't just disappear. We stay with the client throughout the whole process to make sure they know how to use the equipment. If they can't use it when they need to, the equipment is useless."

He also pointed out that Care Trak is not a "babysitting" service but just another tool to help parents.

Autistic children tend to wander short distances, but still could end up in dangerous circumstances. The Autism Society of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected by the disorder. However, many autistic children are highly intelligent, physically active, observant and inquisitive.

Care Trak can locate a child with autism up to one mile on the ground, day or night, inside or outside. The device is mobile so when parents realize their child has bolted, they can take the receiver and track them immediately. Since the Care Trak is a telemetry-based system, obstacles or overhead cover, such as clouds, do not hinder the device.
With Care Trak, individuals wear a small transmitter, usually on the wrist like a wristwatch. It gives a signal 24 hours, seven days a week, even in water while bathing or swimming. Users should change the batteries once a month.

With dementia patients, usually receivers are held only by support organizations such as sheriff's or police departments. If an individual wanders off, caregivers normally would call the department to locate the transmitter.

Parents of autistic children get an invisible perimeter system, which includes a small receiver and a scanning unit to be plugged into a wall circuit. The scanner continually looks for a signal given off by the transmitter. If the signal disappears, it lets the caregiver know the signal is out of range.

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The receiver's antennae can be removed and taken along to locate a child. When going out, parents can operate the device by internal batteries. At a park, the receiver can be set on a picnic table or if parents and child are walking, they can put the receiver in a handbag or satchel.

Blanchard encourages parents who live in an area without the Care Trak program to talk to area law enforcement to persuade them to become involved with the tracking program.

Care Trak's parent company, Wildlife Materials, started Care Trak in 1985 in Carbondale and moved both companies to Murphysboro four years ago. In 1970, wildlife biologist Robert Hawkins, who taught at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, began Wildlife Materials for wildlife research. Hawkins is now retired and Blanchard and William Liao, both longtime employees of Hawkins, bought the company in 2001.

Care Trak started when a Carbondale resident asked Hawkins to help him with his wife, who had Alzheimer's and walked off several times.

"He put a falcon transmitter on her," Blanchard recalled. "As the need grew, the Federal Communications Commission gave us authorization to produce products specifically for this application."
May 30, 2008 - 9:36AM-The Telegraph.com

A Program Designed To Protect Children With Autism

(NAPSI)-Raising a child is a challenge. Raising a child with an illness or disability such as autism is a journey with unprecedented struggles along the way.

According to the Autism Society of America (ASA), autism is a complex developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that autism affects one in 150 children, with a higher concentration among male children, where one in 94 boys are affected.

Autism Speaks, a nonprofit organization devoted to autism, indicates that autistic children may have impaired communication, social and cognitive skills, very rigid routines and repetitive behaviors.

Since autism affects individual children to unpredictable degrees, there is no textbook method when it comes to caring for an autistic child. The ASA advises parents that it is important to be flexible and open-minded to treatment options, changing paths when need be. Methods for caring for an autistic child should be adapted to the individual child’s strengths, weaknesses and needs.

Parents should create a safe and nurturing environment for their child, assisting the child during difficult times with positive reinforcement.

There are many resources for parents to help them provide care for a child with autism. The ASA can equip parents of newly diagnosed autistic children with the tools and information they need to treat the condition.

Autistic children need to learn how to respond during a medical emergency. Many children are either too young or lack the ability to properly articulate their needs, especially during an urgent medical situation.

“Parents need to ensure that their child’s personal medical information is available in an emergency situation,” says Martin Kabat, Ph.D., president and CEO of MedicAlert Foundation International. “This will give them comfort and peace of mind, knowing that their child’s health will not be endangered due to insufficient information when it is needed most.”

One of the tools available to parents that can help protect autistic children in an emergency is the MedicAlert Kid Smart program.

MedicAlert, a nonprofit foundation, has been managing and communicating critical medical information on behalf of its millions of members since 1956. The MedicAlert Kid Smart program ensures that children’s medical records are immediately available to emergency responders to help with their treatment decisions.

MedicAlert’s 24-hour emergency response personnel also help identify children who are involved in emergencies or lost and notify designated family members and caregivers of the situation.

When enrolled in the program, children are provided with one of MedicAlert’s personalized identification jewelry designed just for children and engraved with a membership number, medical condition(s) and the foundation’s 24-hour toll-free hotline.

Children with autism have the tendency to act on impulse and may wander away from their caretakers, making identification and family notification critical when a child is found.

Robyn Olson, whose son Ryan has autism, recounts that, “Ryan doesn’t comprehend the danger he’s in when he wanders off. We enrolled Ryan in the MedicAlert Kid Smart program after the first time he got lost, which had us worried for hours as to where he might be. Now, with MedicAlert, we know we’re going to be contacted, usually within minutes. That’s a huge comfort to me.”

Parents should take advice from the ASA in remembering that in an emergency situation involving the health of their child, it is important to remain calm. Children have the ability to sense and copy your emotional state. There is no reason to make them worry. It is more beneficial to teach them how to calmly respond to a given situation.

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has joined with MedicAlert to bring about awareness of the Kid Smart program that underscores the importance in the safety and wellness of all children across the country. For more information about autism and other children’s conditions, visit www.medicalert.org/kidsmart.

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Autism affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It’s estimated that it affects one in 150 children.