Wandering and water

Wandering, and the water

Missing right now? Stop reading and open the first ten minutes.

Wandering (elopement) means leaving a safe place without warning. It is common and does not mean you are careless. Often the person is heading toward something they love, usually water.

• The National Autism Association (NAA), citing Anderson and colleagues, Pediatrics 2012: "roughly half, or 49%, of children with autism attempt to elope from a safe environment, a rate nearly four times higher than their unaffected siblings".
• NAA: "nearly one-third of wandering incidents occurred from a school setting", and more than a third of children with autism who wander are never or rarely able to communicate their name, address, or phone number.
• NAA reports that "in 2024, 91% of U.S. wandering fatalities were caused by drowning", and that on average seven autistic children die each month after wandering.
• NAA, citing a 2017 Columbia University study: "children with autism are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as the general pediatric population".
• The CDC: "About half of children and youth with ASD were reported to wander." Of those, "1 in 4 were missing long enough to cause concern and were most commonly in danger of drowning or traffic injury".

Swimming lessons come before everything else

Every other measure here slows a person down. Swimming works when they have all failed. NAA: "Enroll your child in swimming lessons as early as possible." Make sure "the final lesson is done with clothing and shoes on" (nobody falls in wearing a swimsuit).

Ask your YMCA, parks department and school district for adapted or one-to-one lessons, and whether there is financial assistance. NAA's free Autism Swim Connect lists instructors experienced with autistic children. And NAA on the limit: "Teaching your child how to swim can help lower risk, does not eliminate risk, so it's important to stay vigilant."

Locks, alarms and the fire question

The CDC: "secure your home (fences, door locks)". In practice:

• Door chimes on every exterior door. (A few dollars and two minutes to fit. They stop no one; they tell you the door opened.)
• A second bolt, mounted high. (Out of sight and reach is often enough.)
• Window stops. More under the home.
• A stop sign or red card on the door at eye level.
• NAA's free Big Red Safety Box holds a Be REDy booklet, two wireless door/window alarms, a personalised bracelet or shoe tag, visual door and window prompts, a safety alert window cling, and a child ID kit. Free to eligible families, one per family; allow up to three weeks. nationalautismassociation.org/big-red-safety-box

Identification they will keep on

Use more than one (any single one comes off):

• A medical ID bracelet or necklace with a name, "autistic, may not respond to his name", and two phone numbers.
• Shoe tags. (Laced on and out of reach; shoes stay on when bracelets do not.)
• Iron-on or stick-in clothing labels with your phone number, in every coat and school jumper.
• Temporary tattoos with a phone number, for trips, fairs, the beach and crowds.
• A card in the pocket for a teenager or adult who will not wear a bracelet.

If your person removes anything you put on them, stop fighting the bracelet. Use labels in clothes and shoes, and a device or registry the police can use. Losing the jewellery argument is not losing the safety plan.

Tracking devices, and the questions to ask

• Radio-frequency bracelets tracked by public safety agencies. Project Lifesaver, the best known, is a search-and-rescue programme "operated internationally by public-safety agencies": you enrol through local police or the sheriff, and its agency locator shows whether your area takes part.
• GPS devices sold to families on a monthly subscription. AngelSense is one: "a proactive monitoring & alerting system, an app for caregivers, and a wearable device", with school-bus monitoring and an SOS button. It advertises offers, not a fixed price, so ask the current cost.
• Consumer item-trackers and phone tracking. Cheap, easy, and only as good as the thing they are attached to.

We recommend none. Ask first: does my police department already run a free programme? Then: does it work with no phone signal or wifi? Who sees the location, and who else does the company share it with? What happens when the battery dies, and how will I know first? Can the person remove it? Is there a monthly charge, and what does stopping cost?

Tell the neighbours before anything happens

The cheapest safety measure there is: a short letter with a photo, hand delivered, saying what to do in the four minutes that matter. Words you can copy:

Hello. We live at number 12. Our son Sam is 9 and autistic. He does not speak much and he does not always answer to his name. He loves water. If you ever see him outside on his own, please do not wait to be sure: hold on to him if you safely can, and call me on 555-0148 or call 911. Please also check your pool first, before anything else. Thank you. Photo of Sam is on the back.

Give it to the houses either side and behind, anyone with a pool, hot tub or pond in sight of your home, and the corner shop. Use a photo that looks like the person today, not the nicest one you own.

Tell the police before anything happens too

Ask your police non-emergency line for the officer who handles community programmes, and whether they keep a voluntary disability registry (many do, some do not). Knoxville's is a typical one: "a registry which allows family members and legal guardians to voluntarily register emergency contact information for individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities". It holds "emergency contact information, detailed physical description, and a photo," is "a free service", and officers can search it before they arrive.

No registry? Fill in NAA's free Personal Emergency Profile Sheet, keep a copy by the front door, and hand it to the officer instead of explaining while frightened. NAA's free Meet the Police toolkit arranges a calm introduction in advance, to "establish trusting relationships, reduce confusion and fear".

The school's plan, in writing

• Ask for elopement to be named in the IEP, supports written in, not just said at a meeting. How to ask, and what to say.
• Ask who watches the door, and who backs them up, at arrival, dismissal, recess, fire drills and field trips.
• Ask what happens in the first five minutes if the person is not where they should be, and who calls you, when.
• Ask about water on or near the site. (Retention basins behind school grounds are the ones people forget.)