It is to bad Wake County has to wait for our children to wonder off before they will enroll your child into the program! 

http://www.telegram.com/article/20090710/NEWS/907100361/1101

Locators help find autistic children

LIFE & FAMILY

By Lisa D. Welsh TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — The story is all too familiar to many parents of autistic children.

An autistic child in Worcester recently wandered away and was missing. He was eventually found naked in a patch of poison ivy, but otherwise safe.

In addition to experiencing seizures, social behavior issues and learning disabilities, autistic children wander.

Ninety-two percent of children with autism are prone to wandering, according to the National Autism Association. According to a report by the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, elevated death rates among those with autism were in large part attributed to drownings, after they had wandered away.

“Our kids disappear, it’s as simple as that,” said Susan J. Loring, director of the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts.

Mrs. Loring, who has a grown autistic son, said autistic children behave similarly to adults with Alzheimer’s who might have a random destination in mind but don’t tell caregivers where they are going or don’t respond when caregivers call.

“Autistic kids are more complicated to find, and that’s one of the things that we train public safety officials to recognize,” she said.

As an example, Mrs. Loring referred to a case five years ago when the search for a missing child enlisted the standard K-9 rescue team.

“He was gone for days and it turned out that the child was running away from the dogs.”

The Autism Resource Center was familiar with the Project Lifesaver equipment that helps keep track of wanderers similar to the way the LoJack car theft system works. Project Lifesaver, a nonprofit started by law enforcement officers in 1999, provides training, certification, and services for law enforcement and rescue teams across the country who respond to 911 calls from caregivers of lost autistic children, Alzheimer’s patients and others with cognitive disorders.
The Project Lifesaver system involves a battery-operated radio wrist transmitter that emits an automatic tracking signal every second, 24 hours a day. The signal is tracked on the ground or in the air over several miles. Each bracelet has a unique radio frequency.

Although the cost of the equipment and training of public safety personnel is paid for by LoJack and donations to autism agencies, the autistic or Alzheimer’s afflicted pay $99 for the detection wrist band and a monthly $30 maintenance fee.

“We’d been trying for years to get Project Lifesaver in Worcester County but it takes some passionate people to make it happen,” she said.

Mrs. Loring said she had seen that before with Lance L. Mason of Winchendon, a Leominster firefighter whose 7-year-old son, William, is on the severe end of the autism spectrum; he is nonverbal and has limited life skills.

As a first responder, Firefighter Mason knew how important fast recovery is and Leominster has one of the highest incidences of autism, with one in every 66 students diagnosed autistic; the national average is one out of 150.

In addition to his efforts that got Project Lifesaver equipment into the city, Firefighter Mason is a member of the Autism Law Enforcement Coalition and trains first responders all over the state with the Project Lifesaver technology.

“Thousands of firefighters have been trained because of William, because without him I wouldn’t know what autism was about,” Firefighter Mason said.

“Because of the sheer number of kids here on the spectrum we’ve raised enough money so that there’s zero out-of-pocket expenses for families — so that families don’t have to pay for the bands or replacement batteries,” he said.

Firefighter Mason said Leominster is one of the few cities where families do not pay those fees.

Mrs. Loring said she was thrilled when she learned that Harry and Gina Tembenis of Worcester were donating money that would pay for training local public safety officials in the use of the Project Lifesaver equipment in Worcester County.

Mr. and Mrs. Tembenis’ son was diagnosed with autism when he was 4 and three years later died from autistic-related seizures.

From their grief came The Elias Tembenis Walk for Autism, a 3,000-mile walk across the country that Tembenis family friends Robert Williams and Bobby Genese of Worcester took last year.

The effort was primarily a journey for autism awareness but there were also donations made to help families offset the expenses that come with treating an autistic child.

The donations went directly to the National Autism Association, but part of the Tembenis’ arrangement with the charity was that a portion of the donations would benefit a local Worcester initiative in Elias’ memory.

“Gina and I discussed just how we could achieve a ‘highest and best use’ for the proceeds and then we came across Project Lifesaver,” Mr. Tembenis said

When the Tembenises attended the Autism One Conference in Chicago last year, they met Jeremy Warnick of the LoJack Corp., the Westwood company that had acquired the firm that manufactures the equipment for Project Lifesaver.

Negotiations started in November and this week, Mr. and Mrs. Tembenis, LoJack, Project Lifesaver and the Worcester County Sheriffs Department came to an agreement in principal.

“This was a two- or three-year goal for us, but with LoJack coming in, they donated the equipment, Elias’ donation will pay for the training of first responders from all over the county,” Mr. Tembenis said.

“Our goal, ultimately is to have it available in all of Massachusetts,” he continued.

“Our story resonates with the public and helps break down barriers. The walk received national exposure and that helps get in some doors and get some action going. Your take a negative and as terrible as that negative is, you find some positive and make those changes.”