Keep Reading ↓

It’s not an easy job raising a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, wandering off or “eloping” as they call it is a huge cause for concern for children with this disorder.

The National Autism Association released a statement relating to wandering earlier this month. It said

“Over the last year, the National Autism Association recorded 32 wandering fatalities in individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and over 200 missing person cases. The vast majority of fatalities were caused by drowning, followed by traffic and train-related fatalities, hyperthermia, and two cases of mistaken home invasions after the individuals walked away from their respective group home into nearby residences.”

Doron Somer, A Dad with a son diagnosed with ASD has used technology to his advantage and has created the app to prevent wandering and it has already saved the lives of multiple children. It’s called AngelSense and it’s basically a child GPS and voice-monitoring app designed for children with special needs.

The App boasts the following features:

• The ability to see your child’s routes and locations during the whole day in a diary format
• A text message is sent when your child arrives and departs from a specific place and for every unexpected car stop and location change.
• It has a special “Runner Mode” which is designed to help find a child with child exit alerts, live 10-second updates, and directions to the child on a map.
• There’s also a “Listen In” feature which allows you to listen in to sense your child’s situation and make sure that he or she is safe.
• The First Responder Alert gives parents the ability to broadcast an emergency alert to a predefined group of trusted people in case a child wanders off.
• The app also allows for a special interface with the child’s school which helps school staff ensure the child is safe during school hours.

The AngelSense Guardian Kit

Price: $9.99 ($39.99 Monthly Service Plan), AngelSense.com

Image credit: Angel Sense

To enable the tracking, the child has to wear the Guardian Tracking Device which is placed inside a protective sleeve. The sleeve is attached to the child’s garment (for example inside a pants pocket) using magnetic fasteners which can only be removed by a magnet key.

What I like most about the AngelSense brand is that the entire customer care team is made up of parents of children with ASD, so users of the app who contact the company will be speaking to people who know exactly what they are going through.

There is currently a promotion running which offers the Guardian Kit GPS device for $9.99 (the original price is $149). The service costs $39.99 per month with a 12-month commitment. AngelSense offers a native app for Android which is available to download on Google Play. The iOS app is not yet available but is expected to be ready in the next few months.