The Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response and Education (AWAARE) Collaboration is a working group of six national non-profit autism organizations whose mission is to prevent autism-related wandering incidents and deaths.
MISSION STATEMENT
The AWAARE Collaboration will work to prevent wandering incidents and wandering-related deaths within the autism community through the use of collective organizational resources, and by establishing and monitoring objectives, guidelines, policies, and tools that will promote awareness, education, prevention and safety.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
AWAARE will be responsible for:
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Establishing a working plan to include action items and goals that will serve to reduce and prevent wandering-related incidents and deaths
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Utilizing joint resources to execute action items and goals
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Promoting awareness of autism-wandering prevention, safety, and missing persons alerts
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Educating the autism community, medical community, educators, first responders, lawmakers, media, and general public about autism elopement and deaths associated with wandering
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Establishing working relationships with health agencies and assisting in data collection efforts when necessary
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Working to establish diagnostic coding and insurance coverage for tracking and other safety devices
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Establishing recommendations for tracking technology
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Establishing and/or disseminating wandering prevention information, safety tips and safety tools
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Working on policy items associated with wandering prevention and response, including network communication alert systems
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Working on obtaining federal grant funds for first-responder training and tracking technology that will help prevent wandering-related incidents and deaths
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Promoting the collaboration’s mission
AWAARE Working Group Organizations
 AutismOne |
 Autism Speaks |
 Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism |
 HollyRod Foundation |
 National Autism Association |
 Talk About Curing Autism |
AWAARE Working Group Members
Teri Arranga, AutismOne
Chris Chirco, Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism
Wendy Fournier, National Autism Association
Moira Giammatteo, Talk About Curing Autism
Lisa Goring, Autism Speaks
Lori McIlwain, National Autism Association
Lori Schulman, HollyRod Foundation
Rita Shreffler, National Autism Association
Alison Singer, Autism Science Foundation
AWAARE Supporting Organizations
Age of Autism
Autism Research Institute
SafeMinds
Florida Atlantic University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities
For questions or inquiries, please contact Lori McIlwain.
