Day of Remembrance: Autism and Wandering Awareness

Today I join the community in remembering autistic children who lost their lives after wandering.

This is not about pointing fingers or differing points of view.  It's about respectfully acknowledging that these families are grieving for children who were deeply loved and are constantly missed.

Here are the facts that make today's observation necessary:

(Ed. note: I created the blue graphic and while I own the copyright, I purposely left off my copyright mark to encourage sharing.  A credit or link back would be nice, but is not a requirement and you have permission to use the image to promote wandering awarness.)


Wandering is a terrifying reality for many families with children on the spectrum, and the statistics demonstrate that wandering frequency increases in the springtime. 

Please keep the grieving families in your thoughts. And please keep an eye out for our kids.


Wandering Resources
Download the NAA's Big Red Safety Toolkit for Caregivers (PDF)
Download the NAA's Big Red Safety Toolkit for First Responders (PDF)


For more information, visit
National Autism Association
NAA's AWAARE: Autism Wandering Awareness Alters Response Education


ShesAlwaysWrite Posts on Wandering
Great Solution to a Common Problem
About our son's first wandering experience  - before he got his ASD diagnosis and we knew wandering was a thing - and the type of ID we got for him.

Neighborhood Outreach
My initial post on the idea I had to make wandering awareness postcards to give our neighbors.

Neighborhood Outreach Part 2: Wandering Awareness Cards Tutorial
The tutorial I wrote on making your own wandering awarness postcards after the hugely positive response I received to the concept.  Includes free templates.