Autism is growing exponentially and it seems like we’re always getting new numbers and statistics to demonstrate that growth.

There are a great many things that make raising a child with Autism one of the most challenging things any human being can undertake. Some of these challenges are pretty straightforward and yet others are not. If you’re reading this blog, you probably have read about at least some the challenges my family faces.

https://youtu.be/qqTFmuXANO8

Most of these Autism parenting challenges can leave us exhausted, overwhelmed and at a loss as to what we should do.

In many cases, we simply have to learn to manage these things and adapt our parenting approach because there’s really no other option. Autism is a life long condition and it’s the one of those situations where people will say that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. We have to pick our battles and pace ourselves because there’s only so much of ourselves to go around.

While all these challenges can be difficult to manage on a daily basis, there is one thing that’s so common amongst children and even adults with Autism, that it’s referred to as an epidemic.
Wandering is hands down one of the scariest things that Autism families have to face. People with Autism can have a propensity to wander away from areas of safety and end up putting themselves in great danger.

Generally speaking, our three kids with Autism don’t seem to be driven to wander and trust me, I’m well aware of how blessed we are in that regard. Having said that, there have been several times, including one in the last few months, where our oldest wandered away and I’m here to say that this was easily the scariest twenty minutes of our lives.

The reality is that roughly 50% of those touched by Autism will wander. Sadly, in many cases, these elopements will end in tragedy.

This is the terrifying reality that so many Autism parents live with on a daily basis. It’s widely known that there is little, if anything that can prevent a child with a propensity to wander, from wandering.

That being said, there are things you can do to limit their ability to let themselves out of the house and wander off undetected. Immediate detection and intervention is the absolute best way to increase the odds of a safe recovery.

I know this whole thing is overwhelming and I’ve spoken to parents who go to great lengths to ensure their child can’t escape the house, especially at night. Some parents sleep in shifts and other parents even stack furniture against the exterior doors to prevent their child from sneaking out and wandering off.

My goal with The Autism Dad blog is do whatever I can to help the Autism community. I share my experience raising three kids with Autism and provide comfort and inspiration to other parents in need of it.

Sometimes, something comes along and I’m able to help make a difference in the lives of Autism families, both physically and emotionally.  This is one of those times and I’m beyond grateful to be so heavily involved in the Vivint Gives Back Project.

The Vivint Gives Back Project is a massive undertaking by Vivint to help provide families with children on the Autism Spectrum the tools they need to keep their family safe and limit the ability of their child to wander away from the home undetected

The video below was filmed this past summer and everything you see is my family’s honest experience with this project.

https://youtu.be/qqTFmuXANO8

Vivint is very much aware that these tools can only help if they are affordable to those who need them.  I’m so excited to be represent this project because not only is the equipment free but the service is on sliding scale. In other words, the monthly service costs are based on your income.

I want to make this very clear. I would not be sharing this or even be a part of this project if I didn’t 100% believe in it. In fact, I believe in this so much that I insisted on paying for the monthly service, based on my income.

I felt that I couldn’t endorse something that I wasn’t willing to pay for myself. To prove this, I’ve included a screenshot of my bank statement showing the monthly charges.

As you can see, my income qualifies me to receive my monthly monitoring service for under $16.00/month. That’s something I can actually afford.

Please take a few minutes and see how the Vivint Gives Back Project can help your family. I don’t get anything if you take advantage of this program. My only motivation is to help provide my families with peace of mind and save lives.

Visit www.vivint.com/autism to apply for this program. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me personally and I’ll help in any way that I can.