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Wandering-related incidents among individuals with autism are far too common. In response to unfortunate incidents and the fears they have raised for parents in the autism community, we have put together a list of steps you can take to prevent wandering incidents and keep your child safe at school.

A 2012 study confirmed what many parents know well: Wandering by children with autism is common, dangerous and puts tremendous stress on families.   Amid a frightening number of wandering cases of children with autism this summer – many of them fatal – Autism Speaks wants to remind families of the resources available and the advice to follow to keep your children safe.

CARY, N.C., July 7 -- A new coalition of six national autism non-profit organizations, Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response Education (AWAARE), launched its website today (www.awaare.org) in a collaborative effort to prevent wandering-related injuries and deaths, apparently on the rise in the autism community. Coalition member organizations are AutismOne, Autism Speaks, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, the HollyRod Foundation, the National Autism Association (NAA), and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA.)

The Justice Department will make funding available immediately to provide free electronic tracking devices for kids with autism who are at risk of wandering. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that his department has existing grant money that can be used for the technology.

A week after announcing that the federal government will pay for tracking devices for kids with autism, officials are offering more details about how families can access the technology. Police departments nationwide will be able to make the tracking devices available to children in their communities who are at risk of wandering using money available through the Justice Department’s Byrne grant program, officials at the federal agency said.

From his home on the Neal Ranch, 14 miles west of Philipsburg, David Riggs is a short off-road drive from a favorite fishing spot on Rock Creek. The bank is flat. The trout are plentiful. Moose, deer and bighorns occasional wander across the secluded backdrop. Riggs, 43, came to realize the picturesque potential for anglers — in wheelchairs. He recently installed a handicap access gate that opens to 60 feet of creek frontage about a mile west of the Kyle G. Bohrnsen Memorial Bridge.

Because the slightest cold virus could kill him, Lyndon Baty almost never leaves the house, but science has found a way to let the 15-year-old Texas boy go to school — at least virtually. A robot avatar now goes to classes and wanders school hallways for Lyndon, who had been forced to stay in isolation at his home in Knox City ever since his immune system was wiped out due to complications from kidney disease. The teen controls his avatar robot through the laptop on his desk at home, guiding it to classes and telling it to turn to face people when they speak to him.

Project Lifesaver helps to locate adults and children who wander off due to autism, Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome, stroke, dementia and other related short-term memory issues, thereby reducing their risk for serious injury and death when they are alone.

A technology originally developed to locate stolen vehicles will now help Flathead County law enforcement agencies locate missing Alzheimer’s and dementia patients as well as children with autism and Down syndrome. In a press conference Friday at the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue Coordinator Brian Heino unveiled the local introduction of Project Lifesaver. The project, established in 1999 by the 43rd Search and Rescue Company of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, uses radio transmitter bracelets manufactured by LoJack to locate those at-risk individuals who have wandered off from families or caregivers.

All parents endure stress, but studies show that parents of children with developmental disabilities, like autism, experience depression and anxiety far more often. Struggling to obtain crucial support services, the financial strain of paying for various therapies, the relentless worry over everything from wandering to the future — all of it can be overwhelming.

All parents endure stress, but studies show that parents of children with developmental disabilities, like autism, experience depression and anxiety far more often. Struggling to obtain crucial support services, the financial strain of paying for various therapies, the relentless worry over everything from wandering to the future — all of it can be overwhelming.