Child ID

My DS, who will be 4 at our next trip, lives with Autism. Just recently he has given up his stroller and we will not be renting one at WDW. (This isn't any different than his older neuro typical brother :), he'll be fine without one ) Now that he is walking on his own, he sticks with us or holds hands quite well, but as any parent knows, the ability for him to slip away makes me nervous.

He is verbal, but in situations that make him nervous he is not always able to talk, able to tell his name, or may even break down. I want to make sure that if this happens, we are prepared to get him the help he needs and was thinking of an ID of some sort. I have seen metal tags and bracelets, disposable bracelets, shoe tags, tattoos, clothing labels, and nylon bracelets. Do any of you use these with your children (Autism or not)? Do you have a preference of the type and what do you like or dislike about them?

Any information you have would be greatly appreciated! I want to get it soon so he can get use to wearing it all year long :)

Unless your son is different from my nieces and nephew, I'd go with the tattoo route. At that age they find them to be cool and they don't care what is on it. They have ones that says " I have autism, please call" and then you take a sharpie marker and put a phone number in the space provided. This should last a couple of days at least, if not the whole trip.

You can teach him if Mom and Dad get lost (we all know the child never wanders off. LOL) to show his tattoo to a CM and they will find Mom and Dad for him. It is also safer because his name is not showing where someone can see that doesn't need to.

My sister used the Who's Shoes shoe tags - they fit a variety of shoes including sneakers, sandals, and even flip-flops (although not so well on those). My daughters always loved to carry their own bags so they had an "ID" card that I made on the computer that they could present to a CM should the need arise - but thankfully it never did. I've also seen dogtag ID's used but they must be in a place where the info isn't readily visible to just anyone and fastened on in a way they child isn't going to lose it.

My parents took DS to WDW when he was turning 5. They made up dog tags with the beaded chain necklace - the tags had his name and address, my parents names, their cell phone number, and hotel info. He wore them under his shirt.
We also had the velcro wrist leaders (velcro around his wrist and velcro around your wrist with a yard of elastic banding in between). We only used it a couple times when DS was around 3 while we were out but felt it was kind of conspicuous. We were never in a very crowded area like WDW while using it though.

If you are concerned that your son might breakdown and not be able to communicate if you get lost, I would suggest a waterproof wristband. A CM will recognize it as an id and be able to retrieve your information if your son is unable to communicate. Google "waterproof id wristbands" and several options will return.

If he will be wearing shorts, he could also wear it around his ankle either with sandals or on top of his sock.

As our children grew older, we got them "dog tags" to wear. They are inexpensive, water-proof and we were able to add tags easily as they began to go places with other people. For example, their first set had their first name, "mom cell", "dad cell" on it. A couple of years later, they went on a trip with their aunt and uncle so we ordered additional tags with that contact information on it.

The problem with "dog tags" is that a CM will not look under a child's clothes for identification and that is where the "dog tags" usually ended up with our boys.

Another thing we always made sure to do was to show our boys what a CM name tag looked like and told them if we got lost to find a CM (explaining that there will always be one close by,) show them the id tags and that the CM would be able to help us be found.

I don't know your son personally but I wonder about the dog tag and the approachability of a stranger trying to grab something from around my neck?? I don't know if this idea completely helps or not but regardless of Autism or not I have seen many people do the same shirt as their group. From personal experience we have put that to good use. We were at AK one afternoon and saw a frantic mother looking around and noticed a CM walking with a little boy with the same shirt. I was able to grab her and show her where they were because I recognized right away that they were obviously together. Just another idea.:D

Thanks for all of your input! I have some things to think about! I may get several and try them for a while... I have a funny feeling he'll go for the nylon wrist band and maybe the shoe tags. I like the idea of the dog tag, but I think that he would end up taking it off or not remembering that its on. Plus, would it get really hot to wear in August?

We went to a local museum yesterday and I dressed both my kids in the same shirt... I never thought about it before, but it was so much easier to spot them both! DS#1 can't STAND it though, so I am not sure if he'll go for it on our next trip :)

The ones we use (non-autistic kids, but still a good idea to have!) are called "ID INSIDE". Just google it and you'll find them. They're a very neat design, made out of tough velcro (not easy for kids to pull open on their own). Hidden inside the velcro is a wee little pocket, and it comes with a bunch of disposable, waterproof cards. You write your contact information on the card and slip it inside the pocket. So the info is not visible to the general public -- it looks just like a blue or pink bracelet, except for the fact that it says "ID INSIDE" on the outside of the bracelet so cast members realize what it is. Every trip, we just pop a fresh new card in the bracelet with our resort info, cell phone #, etc. These things have lasted us over 6 years and they're quite inexpensive at $6.95 each!

we have a button and also we made up some buisness size id cards w/ their name, our cell numbers, diagnosis, allergies, and meds list. My girls do pin trading and wear lanyards so we put one of the cards in their pouch on their lanyard.

Disney is excellant in handling this kind of situation. We were there 2yr ago when a child became seperated from a parent and CM suddenly were coming out of the woodwork and police (they have their own) and undercover people. It was crazy, but the child was found in very little time! It was amazing and I was just in shock at how many people just appeared out of nowhere to find this child!

I never thought of business cards! That's a great idea!

We have been practicing his name and he has it down, both first and last. I have been working with him on MY name.... He just calls me Mr. Mommy. HA!

I am starting to feel less anxious about it, but I still want him to wear an ID of some sort.

Please keep in mind, as I have seen it said many times on this forum, that CMs are not allowed to touch the children in any way. Also, a child may panick and not want to open something that may contain their info inside, or simply forget.

A friend of mine got waterproof bands from a local teacher supply store. They were an adorable tie dye design with white space available to write info. I know DS will enjoy wearing it. I would also consider the tattoos.

This topic has been on my mind, and had me wondering if Disney would consider (or has considered) implementing a bracelet ID system for it's property guests (children) that is tied to your reservation confirmation number. I realize it would be an additional expense for the bracelet materials, but bar code scanning is already in place and it would link to your resort information, etc. Just a thought ...

Try a website called Kids Vital IDs they have waterproof bands specific for traveling, and they are inexpensive :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by LisaP

Please keep in mind, as I have seen it said many times on this forum, that CMs are not allowed to touch the children in any way.

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This is absolutely untrue. I've seen several lost children at Disneyland and WDW. Every time, the CM's take the children by the hand and begin questioning them while they walk with them (usually into a store, where they can find a CM with a radio).

I think the best that any parent can do with their children is to teach them their own first and last name, their parents names, and their parent's cell numbers. I have two ASD children, and they both know their full names, and important phone numbers.

What I do with my boys when we go to Disneyland is dress them in obnoxiously bright colored shirts (yellow, orange, neon green). It's so much easier to keep track of your child or spot them quickly if they wander off.

We have 2 special needs little guys. One with CP, autistic behaviors, speech apraxia.. etc he is 5 and can't talk very well due to his needs. The 3 year old has G6PD, if he gets legumes, blueberries or most meds he has to have a blood transfusion and he cannot talk well as he was adopted from Taiwan and is behind in language.
We use the Velcro Id bracelets that are waterproof and they velcro on to fit the individual child. They come with inserts that allow for writing phone numbers on, allergies, problems the child has, etc. They can be changed out and new pages inserted with new instructions as needed. I like these particular bracelets because they provide enough room for complete information and contact instructions.

We simply placed a sticker with name and cell number on the back of his shirt. worked just fine. blessed never needed to be used. Also nobody stalked us fornumberon his back :mickey:

I have heard that some people are given their children flash drives. they tell their child if they become lost to give the flash drive to a CM and give them the password to open it. IE: Mickey. All their info is on the flash drive along witht heir favorite snack to keep them relaxed until mommy or daddy can be reached. I don't know if this works seems like it would but I have never tried it. DD is now 17 but when she was 3 and got lost at the AK she had a walkie talkie on her hip and the CM radio me and got me. I was running not far behind her when she go spooked by a dino dressed character.

We had the exact same concern our first trip. We trained our boys (both have Autism) to wear an ID pouch around their neck. It that had their name, diagnosis, and our cell phone numbers. It gave us a great deal of peace-of-mind to know they had that, even though we never needed to use them.

Whatever method you choose, remember to have your child get used to it before the park, so it's not an issue when you get there.

Good luck.

We use Tyvek neon colored bands that are waterproof and can't really be torn off, we actually have to snip them off with scissors once back in our hotel each evening. We write our cell numbers and the hotel we're in for that trip with a permanent marker. We've found our boys, (an 8 y.o. and a 4 y.o who is blind), prefer to have them on their ankles instead of their wrists and they usually forget they've even got them on. Also, since not wearing them is not an option, we bought three different colors and we let them decide each day what color they'd like to wear and they seem to like having at least a little say-so in the matter. (Eventhough our 4 y.o. is blind and can't tell one color from the other, he likes knowing he has a choice and he picks a different one each day!) :thumbsup:

My DS 10 does not have autism, but has a severe anxiety disorder and other developmental and learning disabilities, if he was to get separated from us he would not be able to help the CM's even now. What I have always done is I printed little cards with our name and his, our cell phone numbers and which resort we will be staying at. I put one in his show and one in his pocket every day. I also take a picture of him every morning before we leave the hotel so that if he was to get separated I have a pic of him in the clothes he's wearing.

my son also has autism and we use a laynard around his neck with name, diagnosis and cell numbers.