The “Wandering” Designation IS Necessary

Ari Ne'eman Says No to "Wandering" designation

 

Once again an “autistic” adult who fully functions in adult life has weighed in on a situation that, if he is succeeds, would negatively impact the lives of low functioning autistics all over North America.

 

The CDC has finally in it’s all encompassing intelligence finally decided that a wandering designation should be used to help identify those children with a propensity to wander away from safe surroundings.  This is something that has been necessary for decades and is part of the reason for an organization called Mason Allen Medlam Foundation for Autism Safety and their program called "Mason’s Alert" that I discussed in November This Program which realizes that autistic children wander, and that wandering autistic children head for water, aims to create an alert system that would have police properly direct their attention in the case of a missing autistic individual, instead of following normal search protocols that do not work for autistic children.

 

The wandering designation makes it more likely that an alert system of this form could be created, by showing a clinical definition that would make this change in searches easier to accomplish. Lack of this designation helps support police’s attempts to stick to a standard definition search.

 

What really is annoying with those like Ari Ne’eman that work so hard to destroy the work that we do to get programs and systems in place to protect our children is that he is really no different then me. When i was younger (and using today’s standards) it would have been no difficulty for me to be classed as mildly autistic, though i generally don’t suffer any of the issues of this designation today. What this means is that someone who is fully capable of leading a full and productive life is speaking out against programs and designations that are desperately needed for those with the same disorder but many magnitudes worse.

 

Once again we are going to have to hope and work to make sure that Obama’s chosen autistic representative does not damage the great works that are being accomplished in setting new standards that help protect autistic children from being natural victims to the world around them.