Comments on: Project Lifesaver

By: Soccer4ever

Soccer4ever — Sat, 05 May 2007 14:04:45 +0000

How many states have project lifesaver and what are they doing to raise awareness about the program?

By: Scott White

Scott White — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:21:42 +0000

I know this is an old post, but if you would like to start a dialog about Project Lifesaver, let me know. I am a first responder trained with the equipment and uses. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I can be reached via email at scottsmorningbrew at gmail dot com.

Scott

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:14:59 +0000

David, thanks for the suggestion—I will look into it.

By: David

David — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:44:21 +0000

Dear Kristina Chew,

Have you contacted Project Lifesaver Int’l in Chesapeak, VA regarding the statistics on the 66 children with Autism who have been located?
As I understand it, each Project Lifesaver Agency submits an After Action report back to Project Lifesaver Int’l with a narrative of what, when, how, where the wandering incident occurred.
PS – keep in mind that Project Lifesaver first responders only use the locating technology for missing clients. In other words, if you’re not missing, the police are not looking for you.

By: Junior

Junior — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 21:00:01 +0000

I need to look into door alarms more. I bought some at WalMart but they weren’t really loud enough. I need to get one that I can hear throughout the house.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 03:01:23 +0000

Thanks, Junior. We have a chime that goes off whenever the front or back doors open—-it was not installed with an autistic child in mind, but is certainly not unhelpful.

By: Junior

Junior — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 02:41:56 +0000

Unfortunately no, the transmitter does not go off when my son goes out the front door. If he did go out and we couldn’t find him in a short period of time, 5-10 mins at most, we would call the sheriff’s dept and they would come with the equipment to locate him.

They can locate him up to a mile away from the locating device, or up to 5 miles away via helicopter. The sheriff told me that if they don’t find him within 20 minutes, then they will get the helicopter.

It is possible to buy a Perimeter system for your home that works with the Project Lifesaver monitor that would alarm anytime the individual wearing the monitor goes outside a set perimeter. You also would have locating device of your own with that system. However, the last time I checked this system cost in the thousands of dollars. Even so, we still may make that investment in the near future.

Project Lifesaver Fact Sheet (not sure when this was written)
http://www.caretrak.com/lifesaver/facts.php

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 02:25:35 +0000

Junior, thanks so much for sharing about your son. I was wondering if the statistic meant that 66 special needs children have been lost? Or does the transmitter go off whenever your son goes out the front door?

By: Junior

Junior — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 02:22:57 +0000

“But I would like to know more about those 66 “special needs children” found through it—-where and how did they become lost?”

I’m not sure what you mean by this question.

My 6yo son wears a Project Lifesaver monitor and I am grateful he does. He loves to run, and he will do so in a second and not look back. He also does not seem to understand danger, like cars, high places, water, cold weather, etc.

My son will run through out the front door at any opportunity. We keep it locked, but if anyone is going in or out, like his siblings or neighborhood children visiting, he sees an opportunity and off he goes, and then off we go chasing him down the street. (Fortunately we live on a very low traffic street.) We are hypersensitive to door openings, but we are afraid that there may be a time when we are not quick enough.

We are grateful for the Project Lifesaver monitor, we would be devastated if anything happened to our son. I have been haunted by the story of a PA boy with autism who was missing and then found dead. Link to story: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13601614&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 02:21:15 +0000

They’ve started the program in some towns with parents I’m in email list contact with—–parents are mostly thinking of children gone missing and lost, not the latter. Adds much more to think about.