I am attaching a link to the Mason Alert petition. I cannot stress enough how important a system like this is...not just for children/adults with Autism, but all developmental and cognitive disabilities.
As parents of Brycen, we have seen firsthand how he has no comprehension of danger. We can talk it till we are blue in the face, but that will not make a difference to Brycen. While I don't believe Brycen has a fascination with water, I do know he has a fascination with trains and railroad tracks. We know that in the near future, we will be needing an alarm system on our doors and windows also to keep him safe. We already know there are few people in our life that understand the constant supervision he needs and this is why we are very, very picky on who we allow to babysit him. We have no choice but to be picky, because in one second he could disappear like this child did.
There were also situations about a month ago with two children in Iowa that drowned in ponds. The one I recall the best was in northern Iowa and the child was special needs and living with wonderful, stable foster parents. The child escaped from the home and a short time later, they found him in one of those decorative ponds in a neighbor's backyard...he was dead. I read about all of these laws going into effect that people are required to put a fence around their backyard pools, but even these ponds in yards with just a foot of water can be just as harmful to a child that can't comprehend the danger of water.
Please, please support this important alert! Yes it is going to take some tax money to put this in place, but I would rather have a few extra dollars taken out of my check every payperiod than continue to read devastating stories like this.
http://www.theautismnews.com/2010/09/07/the-mason-alert-petition/
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
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Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
We have had several times in our city where our department was called out to help search for a special needs child whom walked out of the house. Fortunately, every outcome here has been a positive one and the child has been found. Usually it is where the child has the most interest in their life. With Brycen liking trains so much, that could be a scary situation. I really have not thought much about having alarm systems in place to keep someone in. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteThere is also another option some cities have called Project Lifesaver. It is a device pretty much like a GPS that the child wears on their wrist or ankle, can get wet and is very, very hard to break. Each has a code and if a child is missing, you call the police and give them the code and then can type it in and track the child on the computer. They then guide a police officer to find them.
ReplyDeleteIt's been around for awhile and I would imagine it has saved lives, but it's not well known in the smaller towns especially.
Waiver services have amounts of money that are available depending on what your child qualifys for that can be used for alarm systems and such. I know that is what we will be saving Brycen's "lifetime" amount for, but the only problem with that is we will then have the situation where we may not be able to stay overnight at other houses or even hotels without so much diligence (and a lot less sleep) to make sure he is safe. It's quite the emotional situation to think about.