Comments on: Public Spaces Mean Extra Precautions

By: The Parent Activist

The Parent Activist — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:25:05 +0000

[...] become, if I may use the term, more the activists than ever, inasmuch as, soon as we’re in a public place, people tend to get that nervous twitch that means, there’s someone different in our midst. [...]

By: Last Week’s Top Posts

Last Week’s Top Posts — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:45:29 +0000

[...] Public Spaces Mean Extra Precautions What if I lose my child in a busy public place? [...]

By: Leanne

Leanne — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:34:18 +0000

I felt lucky, in a wierd sort of way, that Patrick had epilepsy because it meant an excuse (in my strange mind) to put a medic alert bracelet on him. I just added autism to it.

I really worry about him getting lost. I feel lucky that we’re in a very small town and he goes to the local school so most people in the area have met him. But it’s still a big worry.

I imagine I’ll worry even more as he grows up. I could imagine him not knowing how to respond to a police officer and said officer feeling it necessary to restrain him. Ugh.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:09:24 +0000

A particular annoyance I once had with a parent whose child I no longer work with, was that she refused to let us teach the child to produce a card with his personal info. His likelihood of answering a stranger in any form is in my opinion pretty low, but at least if he were to hand over a card, he would be understood. Using his speech, if those of us who knew him, and knew the answers had trouble understanding him, I highly doubt a stranger would have a clue what he was saying.
I think it’s also a case for getting out and getting to know people, as difficult as it can be sometimes. Lots of people in the neighborhood and some of the local businesses know and recognize one of the kids I work with. So, in the event he leaves home unsupervised, or gets separated from whoever is watching him in public, there are lots of people who recognize him. They know that even though plenty of other kids his size may be walking around alone, that this particular one shouldn’t be.

By: C. S. Wyatt

C. S. Wyatt — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:54:25 +0000

I manage to “get lost” on a regular basis. My wife relies on my cell phone to buzz me and ask where I am. There’s just a complete lack of awareness that she is no longer next to me until I want to discuss whatever it is I have found.

Cell phones have been great for malls, big box stores, and any place with lots of books.

We’ve had the same numbers since the mid-90s. I’ve never memorized them with any reliability. I know: home, wife, parents. Those are the three numbers programmed for dialing. Very useful tool — just like my PDA, which reminds me of where I should be and when.

By: Regan

Regan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:49:48 +0000

I share Rebecca’s concern about overadvertising the difference, but I have been thinking about whether there would ever be a standard “prop” that makes sense–the white cane, the mobility device, the service animal–you see those and it is immediately clear that this is a person with specialized needs, and some idea of what it is.

Recently Eleanor learned to tolerate wearing a wristwatch and I think we need to work on wearing a medicalert bracelet–both for the information and because first-responders have consciousness of those. I share the concerns about recall in a real-life emergency and in an accident, she might well not be in a position to recite the info. She also learned to carry a purse this summer so the personal information is kept there, but the next step is knowing when to offer it. Naturally there are other things and I have been looking at what is considered a “travel training” curriculum.
Thanks for the post. It’s not the most comfortable topic, but the reminders keep me actively thinking about the issue and whether we are covering the bases.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:20:30 +0000

@David L.,

I’ve read of some stories in which verbal, high-functioning autistics had some “difficulties with law enforcement”; one was about a man who got upset about something in a store. Law enforcement did not know about his diagnosis. (Am looking for a link to a past post about this.)

By: David L.

David L. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:07:36 +0000

Is having a bad encounter with law enforcement only a problem with minimally verbal or nonverbal autistics? I would think that this is not a problem with verbal, high-functioning autistics. Or could the limited nonverbal communication of even high-functioning autistics still cause difficulties with law enforcement. I myself have never been physically restrained.

By: Frog's Mom

Frog's Mom — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:28:56 +0000

As Frog grows this is on our minds more and more. We live in a small town, but not small enough that Frog is instantly recognized even within our own neighborhood.

We found these http://www.safetytat.com/ temporary tatoos and ordered some that say Autistic, Non-Verbal, and have my cell number on them. We planned to use them when we were out of town or going somewhere in a crowd. But after Frog left our yard last month and wandered down the middle of the street, stopping traffic and being rescued by the assistant superintendant of schools who quickly called 911 because she couldn’t get any information from my non-verbal son, I think it will become a regular part of Frog’s attire.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:01:06 +0000

This has been worrying me more and more lately. I have found a website that sells decals for windows of homes and cars letting first responders know that persons with autism live here, and have extended emergency info attached to their car seats in case I am not able to help, but it really scares me. A lot of local EMS and Fire Depts in the area have been taking some special training for interacting with autistic persons, but I don’t know about our town, I need to check. Jeff and I have lately been discussing getting med alert bracelets for L and K with a phone/name on them, has anyone else done that. I have thought about doing the “I have autism” T -shirt when out in public incase we get separated, but Jeff wondered if that might actually make them more susceptible to a child predator, looking for someone to grab.

Neither can answer questions like what is your name, mom’s name , phone etc. L esp has echolalia so if EMS was to ask him ” are you ok” very likely if he said anything it would be “ok”, and he very well might be hurt. They can’t point to what hurts or show me; our ped knows all about their autism, he diagnosed it, but the nurses still ask L and K where something hurts.