GPS Tracker For Disabled Adults
Special Needs GPS Tracker
For parents and caregivers searching online for a personal GPS tracker to help monitor a person facing mental disabilities, the quest is quite difficult. This is because most of the GPS tracking companies found online tend to focus on fleet tracking and vehicle tracking for business or automotive protection. Very few of these GPS tracking companies offer a solution designed specifically for personal tracking. Some of these types of devices include GPS bracelets for disabilities, personal tracking devices with panic buttons, and pocket-sized live GPS trackers.
GPS Tracking Bracelets
Personal GPS tracking bracelets are rather simple devices that use the most sophisticated satellite monitoring technology. The GPS tracking bracelet is powered via a simple wall charge that powers the internal lithium-ion battery. The charging only takes a couple of hours and once fully powered, most personal GPS tracking bracelets last for approximately 40 consecutive hours. Once the tracking bracelet is powered up all the user has to do is put the personal GPS tracker on their wrist and wear the device like any ordinary watch. The tracker is lightweight, comfortable and even operates as a normal wristwatch, making it perfect for adults with mental disabilities.
Real Time Personal GPS Tracker For Disabled Adults
Once the user is wearing the GPS tracking bracelet their locational data will be transmitted to off-site servers where it can be seen instantly by multiple family members or caregivers who have access to any smartphone or computer with Internet access. The data is crucial in determining where a person with mental disabilities is located the moment they wander off. In fact, a GPS tracking bracelet offers a feature that will alert parents or caregivers the moment the mentally challenged individual leaves a particular pre-designated “safe zone”. This gives those parents and caregivers more oversight resulting in additional personal safety.
Autism Wandering Prevention
Every parent worries about the safety of their child, but that feeling is only intensified for parents who have children or adult family members diagnosed with Autism. Sadly, the numbers of reported cases of those with Autism continue to climb every decade and still, no cure or cause has been detected thus far. However, what has been detected through recent research is that roughly half of all those diagnosed with Autism will engage in some form of wandering behavior, and nearly a fourth of people with Autism will wander for a period so long that parents or caregivers will be concerned enough to contact law enforcement authorities or take additional efforts in locating those who are missing. When taking a closer look at the study, nearly two-thirds of kids wandering had what would be described as a “close call” with traffic, and one out of four almost drowned! What the study does show is that those with Autism who engage in wandering can put themselves in potentially very dangerous situations and that is a concern to parents and caregivers everywhere.
The important thing to take from the study is that it shows with conclusive detail that kids with Autism are much more likely to wander than a typical child. However, it is important to recognize not only the fact those with Autism are more likely to wander but also the hazards and possible steps of prevention for wandering. For example, the researchers also monitored national news reports and found that routinely the media would report a child fatality related to lack of supervision most likely due to wandering behavior. These causes of death included traffic accidents, drowning, and exposure to uncontrolled environments. One mother with an autistic daughter explained that her daughter would frequently try to leave the house in an attempt to visit her favorite restaurants or go to a neighbor’s home to read a book. Unfortunately, she would get these impulses late at night when the restaurant was closed and the neighbor was sleeping, but her cognitive abilities prevented her from understanding these circumstances.
Parents and caregivers monitoring and safeguarding those with Autism always have safety at the forefront of their minds. Part of this is specifically due to wandering behaviors and the challenge of stopping those diagnosed with Autism from wandering. Installation of alarm systems on doors, outdoor fencing with manual locks, and even the use of GPS tracker devices designed in the form of watches or bracelets to offer real-time GPS locations are all safety measures currently employed by parents and caregivers looking to enhance security and personal safety. Although additional security measures are always a positive, they can no way ensure total prevention of wandering and that is why it is so critical that families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, and emergency first responders are provided with the knowledge on how to deal with the situation of wandering if it does occur.
Wandering by children or adults with Autism is not a health problem but more of a community awareness issue. In fact, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has gone as far as to include wandering as a condition related to Autism, and the most critical part of managing the condition is first through preventative measures with local community support. For example, if an individual with Autism is equipped with a GPS tracking bracelet, wanders off, and becomes lost, family members or caregivers should be able to relay the real-time GPS tracking information to authorities seamlessly. This will help police or first responders quickly and accurately locate the wandering individual, and it can be especially helpful if the situation involves an abducted child diagnosed with Autism that may not be able to understand the severity of the situation they are in.
Wandering is a behavior associated with Autism, and caregivers or family members need to take the appropriate preventative measures to ensure personal safety. By installing alarm systems, using personal GPS tracker devices, and working with the community people can reduce not only the likelihood of wandering but also the quick and safe recovery of wandering adults or children battling Autism if wandering does occur. The most important thing is safety and sometimes it takes teamwork to ensure it.
Autistic Child Missing
An autistic child going missing is a real worry for parents all across the globe. And sadly, everyday news stories make the news or are shared on social media about a child or adult with autism who is lost from wandering. For example, Terry Smith, an 11-year-old diagnosed with Autism, wandered off from home a few years back in the city of Menifee. Making the situation even more serious was the scorching triple-digit temperatures that added an element of danger if the boy wandered up into the nearby foothills of the California city. Authorities and search teams searched for the missing boy, but unfortunately, when he was located he was dead.
Stories like this are the reason many parents who have autistic children research what options are available to help prevent such a situation from happening.. One of these technological solutions is a GPS tracking bracelet for autistic children that they can wear and will provide real-time positional data to parents 24/7.
“I began researching different GPS personal tracking devices when my son Parker escaped from the house one mid-afternoon”, a Murrieta mother of a severely autistic child explained. “Even though our family is diligent about locking doors, our cognitively challenged son found a way out of the home and into the street. Thankfully, our neighbors were aware of Parker’s condition and promptly brought him home.”
GPS Tracking For Safety
When a child with autism wears a GPS tracking watch the parents, teachers or other guardians can rest assured that they will have constant access to the location of that child at any given time. The GPS tracking data is live and accessible via mobile phone, iPad, or computer with Internet. What is even more impressive is that the GPS watches offer geographical fencing features that will alert parents the very second the child equipped with the personal tracker leaves a particular area such as the home or school. This allows parents to locate and bring home safely their children quickly if they do wander off.
Sage is a freelance writer with a background in information technology.
