Wandering – Isaac's Autism in the Wild

Episode #74 | Station Visits

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | November 30, 2020

On today’s episode we discuss the ISAAC Foundation Station Visit program. We are joined by Lt. Matt Cowles of the Spokane Police Department, and Lt. John Goodman of the Spokane Fire Department. Joined by Holly of the The ISAAC Foundation, this group helped to create the Station Visit program that generally takes place every other month at both a Spokane, and Spokane Valley fire station (big thanks to the Spokane AMR first responders for their contributions as well!).

We discuss why the program was invented, the curriculum that is covered, and we share some fun anecdotes from past visits. If you have a loved one impacted with autism or other special needs this program is pivotal in creating safe perceptions of emergency personnel in case the day comes where they need to interact.

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Episode #53 | Wandering and Eloping (Part 2)

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | July 1, 2020

In this week’s episode, I was able to interview three amazing local first responders: 911 dispatcher Raegan Hays, Lt. Matt Cowles of the Spokane Police Department and Lt. John Goodman of the Spokane Fire Department. John and Raegan are not only first responders, they are also parents of wandering children with autism. In this episode our first responders walk us through a call reporting an eloping child from the time the call is placed to the time a child is located and reunited with their family. Lt. Matt Cowles also lets us know how and when CPS becomes involved.

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Episode #52 | Wandering and Eloping (Part 1)

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | July 1, 2020

In this week’s podcast a group of parents joined me to talk about their experiences when their children have wandered from home and required the assistance of first responders to bring them safely home. Tune in to hear:

How long parents wait before calling 911 for help
Strategies parents use to help keep their children safe in their home and play areas
Phone tree strategies
Angel Sense GPS tracking
Lessons learned from these terrifying experiences

Stay tuned for Part 2 interview with first responder interviews with: 911 dispatcher Raegan Hays, Lt. Matt Cowles of the Spokane Police Department and Lt. John Goodman of the Spokane Fire Department.

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