Electronic tagging for children?

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Dini
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I've got a younger brother with "down syndrome" who has a habit of running away from home whenever he gets a chance. The problem is he is 19 but has the brain of a 5 year old. He cant talk and cant do simple things like crossing the road etc so it can get quite stressing when he does manage to leave the house.

Is it possible to buy one of these electronic tagging kits? Or is there some device which i can use to tag someone and find out where they are using GPS on an Iphone or some similar phone?

I am looking at Google lattitude but it seems for it to work he has to take his phone with him which i doubt he will. Is there something like a watch (or something similar) that i can put on him that he cant remove?f
 
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Id look into gps beacons. They make clip on types, and some a fairly small. Also, there are now what thru call E-shoes. They are a gps and ipod. I know there's a tool to fit your application. Mountaineering places have a selection if these devices. Good luck!
 
If you have an iPhone, the with the current software you can use it as a gps. Go to mobile me and it'll ask you to create a free account, you can do this. It's called find my iPhone and you can log on on a computer and find exactly where the iPhone is at that moment. I dint think iPods have a gps. HTH

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Lawrence, are you suggesting giving an iphone to a person with the 'brain of a 5 year old'? I dont think it would be too long before he lost said phone. I know you're an apple freak, but perhaps reading the op's entire original post (last line 'something he cant remove') before suggesting that an iphone is the answer to the worlds problems.

Dini, perhaps something like would be of use and a secure way of attaching would be needed and its pretty expensive...
http://www.welcomemobility.co.uk/Products/Personal-GPS-Mini-Mobile-Tracker__NR_M08765.aspx
 
IME, it would be better to get him to learn some personal safety rather than rely on technology to keep him safe.

In case anyone jumps down my throat for that comment, I have worked with people with LD for nearly 20 years.
 
dentedshed said:
IME, it would be better to get him to learn some personal safety rather than rely on technology to keep him safe.

In case anyone jumps down my throat for that comment, I have worked with people with LD for nearly 20 years.
Click to expand...

I agree that he should be taught how to keep safe if possible, and I'm sure that would be offered at his school or college, but I can understand the OP wanting a back up in case he got lost.I hope you mannage to find something. I also worked with people with LD for many years but dont know anything about technology.
 
wisemen said:
Lawrence, are you suggesting giving an iphone to a person with the 'brain of a 5 year old'? I dont think it would be too long before he lost said phone. I know you're an apple freak, but perhaps reading the op's entire original post (last line 'something he cant remove') before suggesting that an iphone is the answer to the worlds problems.
http://www.welcomemobility.co.uk/Products/Personal-GPS-Mini-Mobile-Tracker__NR_M08765.aspx
Click to expand...

I've just realized how stupid that sounds now, I just thought of that when the op mentioned them in the first post.

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Thank you all for all the suggestions. I am looking at those to see if any of them would be suitable.
He did go to school and is now at college. The staff at his school are fantastic when it comes to teaching him things. They have taught him lots of things some of which i didnt think was even possible.

They have tried teaching him how to cross the road but i dont think he has understood why he needs to do what he was taught to do while crossing the road. For example, when crossing the road, what he does is look left then right (very quickly!) then he just runs across regardless of whether there are cars coming or not. I think he knows that he is supposed to look left and right but he is not sure why he has to do that. It is something the school are working on.

Fortunatley he is very good at using public transport which he was taught at school. The bus drivers always tend to let him through whether he has a pass or not. This in a way is an advantage as it gets him away from the roads but is also a disadvantage as he is able to get very far very quickly.

The reason i want the electronic tag is that on occasions when he does manage to get away it is very difficult for members of the public to know that he is lost and needs help finding his way back. The reason being that he cant speak and can only speak using sign language and not everyone understands it. He does have contact cards with several phone numbers in his wallet but he doesnt always remember to take it with him.
 
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I hope he shows up soon.

There is some form of GPS system available for tracking people. I know nothing about it other than an elderly neighbour had it planted in her handbag whenever she was suffering from dementia. Despite having her bus pass taken from her she still managed to get on buses and end up over a hundred miles from home. She's now in residential care though but it was successful in tracking her down. It would need to be planted in something that he would always have although it sounds like you want something like a bracelet that he can't take off.

Does he have some form of support worker that could look into supplying it?
 
I wonder if you could get a gps device into a badge that he could wear all the time? Or even just a talking badge that he knows to press when he's lost?

What some care homes for those with dementia do is have a fake bus stop right outside the home. Seems to work quite well as those interested in escape can't help but wait at the nearest one.

Hope he turns up soon.
 
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