Law Proposed for GPS Tracking of Autistic Children
31 Jan 2014A new proposed law asks parents to track their autistic children using GPS trackers.
Parents of an autistic child worry about a lot of things in regards to their child, but the threat of the child wandering off may very well be the biggest. It is not only a common occurrence with children (and adults) who are autistic, but can also be very dangerous.
According to the medical journalPediatrics, approximately half of the children with autism are prone to wandering. Published in 2012, the article reported that this wandering has led to the deaths of over 60 autistic children since 2008.
Proposed Law for GPS Tracking of Autistic Children
Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York is proposing a law called Avonte’s Law that will track autistic children using GPS technology to eliminate the dangers and possible deaths of children who do wander off. It does not stop the child from wandering, but helps locate them quickly and before harm can come to them.
This proposed law is named after a 14-year-old boy from New York named Avonte Oquendo. He was a child with autism who wandered off from his supervised facility and was found dead near the banks of the East River. Sen. Schumer is hoping to avoid such tragedies as a result of the children fleeing from their living facilities or schools, and not being found in time.
Experts believe by offering these GPS tracking devices to children with autism, the amount of time it takes to find a child who is lost could be reduced by about 95 percent. There are several places of the body the device can be worn, making it comfortable and convenient, including the clothing, shoelace, belt loop or a wristband or ankle bracelet.
This wouldn’t be the first time GPS trackers had been used for tracking students. In 2011, a high school in California used them for six weeks on a volunteer basis, to track students with a poor attendance record. It helped save the school money since every time a student missed a class, it cost the school $35.
For Avonte’s Law, one of the biggest concerns of the devices so far is the cost. According to the most recent data, every tracking device would run parents about $80 with monitoring costing a few dollars a month.
Sen. Schumer has already held a press conference announcing the law, which will go into formal introduction in the next week. Approximately $10 million would be funded for the program, which is completely voluntary and up to the parents to choose if they want to use the devices for their children. During the press conference, Sen. Schumer told reporters:
“We’ve seen it done – it works. All that stands in the way is funding.”
These GPS trackers are actually modeled after a GPS tracking program for Alzheimer’s patients that is used with people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and are also at risk of wandering and hurting themselves. The purpose is not to force everyone to be tracked, but to allow the option for worried parents and relatives who are concerned about their autistic children, and avoiding tragedies like what happened with Avonte.Schumer also believes community involvement is important to protecting children with autism, including educating families on the biggest issues they face, and using such technology for avoiding catastrophe.
As an update to the proposed law, federal grant money has been approved and will be used to purchase GPS tracking devices for autistic children and other children with developmental disorders that put them at risk of wandering away their caregivers, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on January 29, 2014.
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