Any ideas of what info to put on an Id passport for my autistic son. who is asked questions he cant answer?

Question

im trying to plan ahead for when my son who is 14 at the moment decides to go wondering off. he has little speech and would definately draw attention to himselfhe isnt educated in his own town and not known really, i am very concerned that he is going to be viewed as weird of theatening and want to make local people aware of who he is and help keep him safe. I know that time is near as he is frustrated being at home and wants out all the time, and not with me!! it is not safe . i thought of making up an personal id passport for him. but am also concerned that too much information in the wrong hands could cause more harm. i thought of taking him down to the local police station and introducing him there... but would very much appreciate any advise as to what i could include in his id passport or other ideas of what might help him. i know educating others would help but easier said than done! any ideas on how to do that too would be helpful thanks

Answer 1

An ID bracelet would be the best idea. I would also get him a GPS cell phone. I believe Disney makes one that allows you to track your child. There are a lot of Autism support groups on and off line. You need to find other parents with the same problems who have already dealt with these problems, and who you can talk with. You need a support group. It will help a lot.

Answer 2

There are programs especially fro situations like this in some areas.  It was started for alzheimers patients.

Genrally they use a GPS watch so they can track the person-I think they are comercially available for parents to buy (although not as sophisticated)

definately a good idea to let the PD know who he is.

Ask if you can put their number on the passport.  

Something like

Hi, My name is Joe.  I have autism.  I have difficulty communicating.  Please call the PD at 123 555-9999 to help me get back home'

I worked with a child that always had a belt bag around her waist-and we taught her to hand over her passport when someone asked her name-

could work with a medic alert tag-teach him to show the tag when approached...

Answer 3

The main information you need is:

Name, Adress or school (depending on where he is going to be), any medical problems (if they are going to be a problem - these may include seizures, or allergies) and your or his school's phone number.

You could try getting in touch with a disability group who provides carers. This may either be on a paid carer basis or a volunteer carer basis.

This way he can go out with someone which means he will be able to get out and won't have to stay with you the whole time and will probably be able to get out with someone closer to his own age. 18+ but still young enough to be able to relate to a 14 year old.

Answer 4

there are holiday options for people with disabilities where they can choose destinations to go to with the support of carers. the ratios vary so you can have minimal or high support. it is great for community integration and as a parent gives you a break. people are becoming more acceptable but take small steps. an id card can be good and all you need is a name and number. good luck and i commend you on your efforts.

Answer 5

At my school we all wear wrist bands with medical signs and when you open the band it has a piece of paper in it that says "See information in shoe insert". If you take off my shoe my information is there. I can speak but not everyone at my school can so we all have them. Also some kids have tags on their shoes saying the same thing (ID in shoe)

One boy has an ipod that can hold pictures and his mom scanned a picture of his information and he can show people that. It has PECS in his ipod so he uses it and he can show people who he is. Another boy knows to pull his wallet out when asked who he is.

We also have some kids that wear Ion kids or something like that that will beep if they wander off too far and so you know they are out of range. You might look at that.

There are a lot of things you can do.