The case of Nadia Bloom, the Florida girl who wandered off into the swamp and was lost for five days, had a happy ending. But for families caring for an elderly parent with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, or a child with autism, the case highlights a common fear—that their loved one will wander off or get lost while they're not being directly attended to.
Bloom has Asperger's, a developmental syndrome that is considerered part of the autism "spectrum". Even though Asperger's is a "high-functioning" form of autism, children with Asperger's are still prone to wandering off. The same is true for other forms of autism. A survey by the National Autism Association found that 92% of parents of autistic children said their child was at risk of wandering.
There's also a documented danger of wandering for elderly parents with Alzheimer's and dementia. According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 60 percent of people who have Alzheimer's wander at some point, because they are searching for something, trying to get away from stress, or reliving the past.
Fortunately, there are a number of technologies available to help find those who wander off, assuaging some of the fear. The latest is a device from EmFinders, a new technology company based in Frisco, Texas. Called EmSeeQ, the wrist-watch sized wearable device can be remotely activated over a cellular network to provide location data about the wearer and route emergency responders to them.
EmSeeQ uses the national E-9-1-1 network to triangulate and locate the wearer in case of an emergency.
Here's how EmSeeQ works:
The device comes in two versions—one that can be worn on the wrist with a buckle, and one that clasps onto a belt and requires two hands to remove. The EmSeeQ service costs about $25 a month—less than a cellular phone contract.