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Mikecunniffe

Autism Alert Cards are they any good?

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Hi all

 

I'm been considering for a quite while to get some alert cards for me to carry in events where communication can break down or emergency. So i'm looking at starting with Autism Alert Card but not sure where tobuy the best one.I Seen one on Autism Website and looks quite good for £2.50.

 

Are these quite hand for any kind of situation and was wondering if they a alert card for dyspraxia and learning diffuclts if so should i invest in them too.

 

My concern is i'm starting to get all over the place but with my health and condition i'm starting to think how i would tell people about my medical conditions and i think the cards are the best

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We went through this with my daughter when she started to be more independent and especially travelling on her own.

 

The alert cards are an excellent way of communicating your issues and to help others to help you. I would also suggest considering wearing a medic alert bracelet or necklace. There are some good designs around and need not cost a small fortune. The advantage of these are they tell people there is a medical condition without immediately telling them what is wrong.

 

My daughter's experience was that it also changed the way people treated her. For example when in shops staff were far more patient and helpful when her necklace was on show. Also when she became agitated or upset because of sudden changes while on her own strangers were more likely to ask if she okay or needed help rather than judging her or ignoring her.

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Hi Dgeorgea

 

Thank You for sharing your daughter story and it but like me, I'm all independent now travelling all over the uk but i'm starting to suffer mild aniexty now due to the fear of unknown. My family worry too while i'm out and have adopted the check in facebook method compared to texts.

 

One area that i might seem weird in is Piers or surfaces above water as i can't look down to the sea as i think peir is unsafe as i see a screw missing or bit of wood missing.

 

Never thought about a Bracelet or Neck chain, would lanyard do the job as i can't really wear bracelet with my job plus it might get damaged.

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Yes a lanyard would do.

 

There are a huge range of options on what you could have, depending how obvious you want it to be. For example you can get usb flash drive with the medic alert logo and can carry additional information on the drive. Or you could go with dog tags, or a plastic card with the relevant details. If you google medic alert using images you should get a good idea of what is around.

 

I hope you don't mind but I checked your profile and see you are a little younger than my daughter. One piece of advice I would give you is whatever you choose don't pick something which will inform others immediate why you are wearing it. If you decide to use a lanyard I have found which ever way I put my work id on it invariably turns around to show the back of my id card. As a young person it could put you at risk.

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I hope you don't mind but I checked your profile and see you are a little younger than my daughter. One piece of advice I would give you is whatever you choose don't pick something which will inform others immediate why you are wearing it. If you decide to use a lanyard I have found which ever way I put my work id on it invariably turns around to show the back of my id card. As a young person it could put you at risk.

 

Hi dgeorgea

 

I don't mind whatsoever, i just don't understand this last paragraph. At work i have two id badge at anyone time.

 

I also have Learning Disability and Dyspraxia to deal with would i need to get a Medi Alert for them.

 

I'm justing thinking if the worst came around and i could not verbal my condition i will not be treated with them in mind and having a Medi Alert does the verbal work for you

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Sorry I should have been a lot clearer on this.

 

My experience of working with communities is there is a lot of youth on youth crime. In some areas this seems to be predominantly gang based, especially in cities like London. In others it seems based more on differences and non conformance. For example when my daughter began getting into the goth culture was the same time Sophie Lancaster was beaten to death for being a goth. But these two different causes of youth crime often bleed out to drag in others.

 

However disability hate crime is not restricted to young people. I often witness too often adults who seem to believe when they meet someone with learning difficulties or mental disabilities it gives them the right to abuse the person, usually verbally.

 

Medic alerts used to do just that, alert those who needed to know that there was something to be aware off with further information to be found either on the back or inside. Googling medic alerts I notice they are far more obvious now about what is wrong. For diabetes, epilepsy or allergies this might make sense.

 

What I was trying, very poorly, to say is it might be better to have something which tells others you have specific needs but doesn't broadcast those needs. But at the same time contains the information you can choose to share with others when you choose to.

 

For example with my daughter, and she was 12 when we first got her a medic alert we chose the snake around a staff pendent, on the back we had engrave 'Aspegers' and mum's number on the back. The pendent was something we knew she would like and wear when she went out. These days she wears a watch with a button she can press which puts her through to a call centre with trained staff. Where necessary they can talk to someone to explain her difficulties and help, can stay connected to her until she is somewhere safe or if necessary speak to the police or ambulance to get her help quickly - important as she works in a shop where they sometimes get very difficult customers and where potentially she could be followed after leaving work, or connect her to mum or dad via our mobiles. It is not a cheap solution. The solutions we have chosen have always been discrete.

 

I guess one of my main concerns is not to put young people off from travelling independently or pursuing their interests. My daughter has been doing so since she was 12, with one of us going places with her in the first place until she was confident to go on her own. It has enriched her life, given her confidence and helped her to make some very good friends based on shared interests. She has been the victim of crime once, she had her mobile snatched out of her hand while talking to mum. A bad 20 minutes for us as the last thing my wife heard was her screaming and as she was in Liverpool having to wait for someone to call us to let us know what had happened.

 

The main point I was trying to get at is the solution you choose should also allow you to choose who you share the information with. The advantage of medic alert is it tells someone there is probably a good reason for your 'strange' behaviour without jumping to conclusions like your drunk or on drugs which initially could result in a negative experience with individuals of authority, as well as getting appropriate help quickly.

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This is quite good to know and i never heard of the watch with a emergency button, how much does this cost and where can i get one from.

 

I have seen plain Medi Alerts with the logo on the front and details on the back out of sight of crims.

 

I'm out and about today so all sorts of challenges could be waiting for me.

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The forum rules don't allow me to post a link, but if you google Centra Pulse, then click on the link for the gps watches.

 

They show the prices for the Everon Vegas, but not the Limmex which my daughter uses.

 

Not 100% sure of the purchase price for the Limmex as my daughter was a tester for this. though they were talking around the £200 mark. The price quoted is for service element to the call centre.

 

The GPS side of Limmex is not very accurate when we tested it. They can narrow it down but this does take time. So it is more suited to those who can communicate and being able to exactly locate where they are is not a major issue. When it is answered your information comes up on their system so they will be aware of your needs and communication skills. I was impressed with the communication side, it is like having your phone on speaker, clear and easy to understand what the person is saying. It is the hardware and software in the watch which pushes the cost up.

 

Vega while more expensive has a much superior gps tracking. Where as the Limmex send out a single signal for gps locating Vega sends three allowing for quicker and more accurate location find.It is more suited to those who are less able.

 

But if you are interested speak to them first to ensure it will be suitable for you. The watch section is a little thicker than normal, I mention this because of your concern about wearing a bracelet.

 

Both my daughter and I are big fans of the Limmex watch, but for transparency while I do not work for Centra Pulse I do work for a company which is part of the same group.

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I am not sure of this but can't you use a mobile phone they can be tracked by the signal the phone sends out in the case of an emergency.

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