Safety’s Always First: Project Lifesaver
Project Lifesaver provides bracelets equipped with tiny transmitters that a child with autism or an individual with “another disorder where there is a tendency to wander” can wear. Via the transmitter on the bracelet, public safety personnel can track down the missing person. As noted in today’s Gloucester County Times (NJ), more than 20,000 people are enrolled in Project Lifesaver nationwide; the program has been used some 1,500 times and the average recovery time has been 30 minutes and each person has been found safe and uninjured.
Gloucester County Sheriff Carmel Morina said he was “sorry it took so long to get started” in the county, but said he hoped that parents now could have some “peace of mind” knowing their child could be returned quickly if they disappear.
“We know the everyday struggles,” said Deputy Freeholder Director Robert Damminger, whose young daughter suffers from autism. “Any resources that are available are a godsend.”
The entire state of New Jersey is “on board with the program” so that if a missing person can tracked no matter where they may be in the state.
There are at least two other autistic children in our neighborhood and both have wandered: One was found in a neighbor’s trampoline after the police had been called, and another walked into my in-laws’ house, used the bathroom, and sat at their kitchen table listening to his music player (this was a few years ago, before we had moved in with my in-laws). Charlie seems to understand that he is to stay in the yard but a parent can never be too sure.
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POSTED IN: New Jersey, Safety
8 opinions for Safety’s Always First: Project Lifesaver
mcewen
May 25, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Good o! Couldn’t work out if it functioned inter State or within any one State [second link dead] but either way if would seem like a sound investment.
It’s not just the wandering / bolting, but also just in crowded places when you’re trying to ‘herd.’
Cheers
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 25, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Links working now—-there’s no age too old for holding one’s child’s hand!
teacher
May 25, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Actually, I think these things can be somewhat dangerous, as they provide a sense of security that is totally false, and also, they are a clear example of one of the things I hate most about schools (and I am a school teacher): the constant, unmitigated surveillance and monitoring of childrens’ activities.
When I was hired six years ago, there was an autistic student in my class who was a “runner.” Multiple times a day, he would stand up and run out of the classroom, and in fact clear out of the building and into traffic. When the boy would jet out of the room, I’d have to open the door to the adjoining classroom so that the teacher next door could continue to teach my kids (and his) while I was running down the street.
The boy’s family lived under siege: they surrounded the house with a tall metal fence, installed an elaborate alarm system that would alert them when a door or window was opened, installed some type of practically-impossible-to-break plexiglass over the windows, and sealed off/boarded up/nailed shut/triple locked every opening in the house. none of this worked; the boy would still find ways out. The family repetitively attempted to make him wear these bracelet/monitoring device type deals (which were invariably advertised as being “unbreakable”), but each time he would figure out a way to break it and/or take it off.
Eventually, the boy and I worked on this through other means, and he eventually stopped running out altogether. Instead of putting these bracelets on people, we should be asking people why they are running. They can and do communicate their in a variety of ways (verbal and nonverbal).
As far as the surveillance part of it goes, yes, children need to be watched and kept safe. But what happens when one of the people wearing the bracelet simply wants to spontaneously go for a walk? Our culture of fear and continual anxiety prompts us to be policing everyone every moment of the day. One of the primary ways I learned as a child was by spending a lot of time alone, wandering through the city I lived in. Did I get into some dangerous situations? Of course. But I think it would have been far more dangerous for me to never have been given the opportunity to wander on my own, engage in trial and error, and face challenges by myself. I am not advocating irresponsible care towards children. I am suggesting that there are other ways to work with autistic people to resolve some of the challenges that crop up as a result of the fact that they live in a world that is designed by and for non-autistic people.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 25, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Teacher: We taught, slowly and gradually and painstakingly, to stay in the front yard and to stay by us on the sidewalk—-just as you note, it is indeed possible to teach a child not to run away (and my son has had periods of this, mostly trying to get out the door of his classroom). One reason that he kept doing it was that parents and teachers reacted, or rather overreacted, with such intensity—-I have slowly learned that letting go of “negative energy” and being what I call “Zen” help greatly in these situations. It is not an easy thing to do when one is with a child on a busy street in a city. It is something we practice with my son in safe settings.
Regarding the false security of a device such as a bracelet. I think this, or something like this, happens time and again: My son used to have frequent SIBs (head-banging) and a school administrator’s suggestion was a helmet. Of course everyone was worried about the potential injury done to my son’s head. But the school personnel did not speak of, or seem to consider, ways of teaching my son not to his his head; ways to do something else. Similarly, when he started (this was before the SIBs got bad) to take off his shoes in class, I was told to buy hiking boots with long laces so that my son literally could not take off those shoes—instead of actually teaching him that he ought to wear his shoes.
I heartily agree: “there are other ways to work with autistic people to resolve some of the challenges that crop up as a result of the fact that they live in a world that is designed by and for non-autistic people.” My son’s teacher noted that he takes off his shoes during lunch and then added that some of the other students to do, and we both shrugged.
teacher
May 25, 2007 at 10:15 pm
I’m in agreement with you about overreacting. The boy that I had six years ago was a great teacher to me, because I was 21 years old, it was my first year teaching, I was in a large urban setting with lots of socioeconomic problems, and this boy literally forced me to chill out quickly.
I’ve also found that people are particularly prone to overreacting when it comes to SIBs. My theory is that SIBs seem to violate some deep-seated taboo that is either psychological or societal in nature. I’m not sure. The boy I mentioned above would headbang as well, and after my initial shock (I had never seen someone do this), he, as I say, forced me to get with the program and stop being scared or freaked out. He was also very patient in teaching me to understand his communication, and I eventually realized that the problem was almost entirely sensory in nature. Consequently, the headbanging tapered off just like the running did.
Jen
May 25, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I too agree that there are other ways to work with autistic people, but sometimes, these tools can be helpful while we work on those things. I worked at a daycare with a child who used to run out of a room, the building, the boundaries of the outdoor play area, and his home. He did, and I believe he still does, wear a bracelet with his address engraved on it.
At the daycare, we worked on his not leaving the room without asking, just the same way any other kid had to let the staff person in the room know where he or she was going. Yes, we did sit in or near the doorways to block them. But, as he and some of the other younger children started to tell us where they were going, we moved away from the doors. And, just like every other child when we started moving away from the doors, if he left without asking, unless it was a run to the bathroom (because that’s something we should never interrupt) we made him come back and ask. We worked on not going outside without an adult, and waiting in line at the door, just like every other kid needed work on, but maybe he took longer with it. Outside we had to teach him, just like we had to teach the other kids, that unless you are leaving with the adult who is taking you home, once you reach the driveway gate, you turn around and come back. Once you get to a certain point in the field, you turn around and come back. They worked on telling someone what you’re doing and not going outside alone at home too.
There were a few scary moments, but he knows the rules now, so he can have greater freedom.
On the contrary, a student I work with at his home now lives in a sort of lockdown situation like teacher described because he’s a runner. The alarm system is wired so that it announces a door or window being opened. They typically don’t keep all the doors locked, and he is a great finder of open doors. Last night, while not allowed in the pool for 24 hours because it had to be shocked, he managed to find a door that mom forgot to lock and jump in. I may have had my back turned for 30 seconds, and he managed to jump in. He spent the rest of the time I was there trying to get rid of me, or trying to get me not to watch him for a few seconds so he could make a break for an open door. He’s clever enough to know that sneaking past his family is much easier than sneaking past me. He knew all he had to do was get rid of me, and he’d be able to find an opening. At least this time, mom figured it out too, and had me let him in the pool a few minutes before I left (I guess 23.5 was close enough to 24 hours, and there’s really no reason he should be mad at me because they wouldn’t be dilligent enough to keep him out of the pool).
Instead of locking the doors and teaching this child to ask for the door to be opened to go outside, it’s easier for them to let him run out whenever he wants, and make someone drop what they’re doing to go out with him when they hear the alarm system announce where he’s escaped from. If they don’t get out there quickly, they must hope that he didn’t intend to leave the yard. If he did, hopefully whoever used the gate last locked it properly, and he hasn’t yet figured out how to unlock it. If he does get out of the fenced yard, you can just hope he’s playing in the driveway, and hasn’t gone elsewhere.
Since teaching him not to run out any open door is not a priority for this family, even as much as I would love for it to be one, a device like this might be the best or only option in keeping him totally safe. He does like to wear my watches when I myself wear them, so he probably would not remove it.
For the other child, such a device could have been useful during the teaching phase. Additionally, for him, and many children autistic and otherwise, such a device might be useful at large public places, such as amusement parks. Children do sometimes get lost at these places, and while some can figure out, or remember what they should do in such a situation, others may not. For some, they may forget, not have enough time to learn it, or they may become overwhelmed with fear. Additionally, any child or person not able to communicate fluently in the language of the place he or she is visiting would have a difficult time were he or she to get seperated from his or her companion(s).
While this may indeed be used as a cop out for teaching a child to stay within boundaries, ask to go out, etc., that does not mean it cannot be used as a safety net while these things are being learned. I feel we must also recognize the sad reality, that not everyone is commited to teaching these things. There are some people who had an excuse before such a device existed. Those children deserve safety too.
teacher
May 27, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Oh, I definitely agree that certain safety measures need to be taken while the child learns a certain skill, but people need to be actively working toward teaching the child. But as you seem to be saying, these devices aren’t a substitute for teaching a child (just like things such as airbags and seatbelts aren’t a substitute for learning how to drive safely).
Teaching Strategy #18: Walking Side By Side
Jul 14, 2008 at 1:00 am
[…] number of states (and, in my own state of New Jersey, a number of counties) have instituted Project Lifesaver. A child is issued a special tracking device that can be worn around an ankle or wrist. The device […]
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