SAVE THE LIFE OF AN AUTISTIC CHILD

1 out of 110 children has been diagnosed Autistic.  92% of Autistic children wander. The number one cause of death among Autistic children is drowning.



My five year old autistic son, Mason, pushed a fan out of the window, ran across the street and drowned.  He died on July 29th, 2010. 

Unfortunately, I was at work when he got out of the house.  Our air conditioner had quit working the day before, and not even thinking, I put a fan in my oldest daughter's window and closed the window down on the fan.  It never occurred to me that Mason would push the fan and screen out to escape the house.  Anyway, my daughter called me at work as soon as Mason went missing and I called 911 and asked the police to search the pond, because it was right across the street and I feared that he had gone there, but when I arrived fifteen minutes later, no one was at the pond.  I drove there, got out of my car and immediately saw my darling floating face down in the pond.  I started screaming and jumped in, pulled him out and started CPR.  His little body was pink, but his lips and nose were blue.

The paramedics took over CPR and we rushed him to the hospital where they managed to get a pulse and heartbeat, but two days later, despite trying everything, his little heart quit beating.

We are working to get an alert in place which will be known as the "Mason Alert".  Unlike the Amber Alert, this alert would be geared toward autistic children and adults.  When a normal child disappears, most of the time the reasons are benign.  They went to one friends house instead of the one they were suppose to go to, they went to the park instead of going straight home, ect., ect.

When an autistic child wanders or disappears, the immediate response should be a heightened state of awareness, and an instant realization of the danger that child is most definitely in.  Due to their condition, all autistic children to one degree or another lack the ability to recognize danger signals. 

They will walk into a busy intersection, despite traffic.  They will walk through an open front door, not knowing if a predator is on the other side.  They will hide in tight, enclosed spaces, not realizing the danger of suffocation or heat stroke. They will walk down a mile of railroad tracks, not realizing the train they love so much can kill them, and they will wade into the middle of a muddy pond, never thinking that they can't breath the muddy water.

We are hoping that the "Mason Alert" will help to educate authorities and also provide them with EVERYTHING they need to help us when one of our children escape.  Many people may say, "Escape?  How can that happen if the child is really being supervised?"   

Let me just say this.  Since my son died, I have been contacted by hundreds of parents of Autistic children, and not one of them have asked me that question.  Just because a child is autistic doesn't mean he or she isn't brilliant and creative in his or her own way, and the number one outlet seems to be figuring out every safety lock ever invented.  You put one type of lock on your door, and within a couple weeks you are out buying something else because your baby figured out that he can un-slide that lock with a broom, or if you push both sides together you can get the knob to turn.  A normal child learns limits as they grow.  They learn that leaving the house without mom and dad could mean they might get hurt.  Unfortunately, that is a very difficult lesson to teach an autistic child.

We want the Mason Alert to immediately provide authorities with the following:

A current picture of the child

Child's address and Contact information.

Their facinations: i.e. railroads, small spaces, water

Locations of all nearby hazards such as tracks, pools, ponds, abandoned houses, busy intersections.

Notify if the child is verbal or nonverbal.  This is very important, because when we search for someone, we tend to stand in one place and shout the person's name.  A nonverbal child won't respond to this AT ALL.  When I arrived home, the police were shouting Mason's name.  I could have been standing right beside him, shouting his name and not gotten a response.

How the child reacts under stress.  i.e. do they hide, do they run, do they fight, do they shut down and just stand still.

And finally, how to approach the child and who needs to approach the child.  In some instances, authorities will just have to immediately react if the child is in immediate danger, but in other instances, it might be better to wait for a parent or caregiver, and taking this step might help eliminate danger.

Please sign the petition for the Mason Alert.  The web address is

http://masonallenmedlamfoundation.webs.com/masonalertsignup.htm

By signing and passing this around, you may just be saving someone's baby.  I wish that this had been in place for my son.  Instead of holding him in my arms each night and loving him, I kiss his picture and say a prayer and go to bed crying.  I don't want any other mother to endure that.

Thank you,

Sheila Medlam