The Autism Society of Acadiana needs your help to raise more than $9,000 for project “Keep Our Kids Safe.”
The society will receive a grant to purchase GPS tracking devices if they can match the amount before the end of the year.
Stephanie Krielow’s son Jonah has autism. She says, like any parent, she worries about her son.
“Wandering and eloping is a huge problem for individuals on the spectrum because anxiety tends to rule their world,” said Krielow. “When they’re feeling super anxious, sometimes, flight will kick in and they just need to leave the situation.”
Krielow says it is common for kids who have autism to run. Last week, Jonah tried to leave school.
Jonah said he tried to leave because he missed his mom and “school takes a long time.”
Krielow is hopeful the Autism Society of Acadiana will be able to help ease the anxiety of families who have a child with autism. The Acadiana chapter is raising money to purchase roughly 80 GPS tracking devices and provide a year’s subscription to the service.
“The way their tracking devices work is they hook on an article of clothing,” Krielow said. “They can’t be removed. Mom and Dad have a key that makes it to where it can come off. There are lots of features including text and email alerts if your child is not where they should be.”
The Autism Society says the GPS tracker could be a life saving device.
As for Jonah’s older brother Lucas, he says it’s his job and he is proud to take care of his little brother.
“I’m afraid he’s going to run off and we don’t want that because we don’t want him to run off,” said Lucas.
If you’d like to donate to the Autism Society of Acadiana’s “Project Keep Our Kids Safe,” donations can be mailed to the Autism Society Acadiana, 3108 W. Pinhook Rd, Ste 101, Lafayette, LA 70508 (designate the check for “Project Keep Our Kids Safe”).
Donations can also be made through their website.
