Autism medical alert bracelet?

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I have Asperger's and I'm high functioning. I've been thinking about my future lately. Let me be more clear, my future as a person on the spectrum living independently and on my own. I can't wait till I am completely independent with no dependence on my parents what so ever. However, although high functioning, like all on the spectrum I have my own unique issues. I've been thinking about investing in a medical alert bracelet that indicates I'm autistic. I've been thinking about this because what if I meltdown in public or worse while driving. Both have happened in the few years I've been an adult. During a meltdown, as all of us on the spectrum have probably experienced, I completely lose control of my physical movements and my emotions. After a meltdown I'm usually exhausted and sometimes listless. A medical alert bracelet might help law enforcement, medical personnel, or just good samaritans identify the cause of such erratic behavior. I mean if my mom still tells me to stop acting like a baby when in full blown meltdown mode, what would a person who didn't know me think and judge me as. Also if something happened to me and I had to communicate with medical personnel effectively, but wasn't because I didn't understand, the bracelet would tell them why I seemed confused and that it had nothing to particularly do with what they were helping me for. I'm pretty good socially, but in stressful or unfamiliar situations sometimes my brain doesn't seem to take everything being said to me in. I don't know maybe it's overkill, but it seems practical. Just something that's been going through my mind. If you have an autism alert bracelet and even if you don't, I would like to hear your opinions and experiences with this topic.

I've been planning to get one, but those I've seen don't spell out AUTISM on the. They simply use the red or blue medic sign. With some of them you can inscribe AUTISM on the inside but I want one with huge letters that spell out AUTISM, not that people who know me believe I'm autistic, but still...

im more of a fan of cards that you could keep in your wallet behind your id
a bracelet would be good for someone that is lower functioning

Sorry to be pessimistic, but if you have a full meltdown in public, the good samaritans are going to run the other way, the medical personnel are going to call the cops, and the cops are likely to shoot you as you will no longer be a threat to them.

So unless it is tattooed on your forehead, no-one is going to get a chance to read it at the most important time.

Nice idea, but don't think it will work.

If you have a meltdown while driving to the extent that law endorsement gets involved, you'll possibly have your driver's license revoked as result of your stated condition making you unfit to drive. And in this and other cases, if law enforcement has to become involved due to a meltdown, they're probably going to radio you in as a 5150 and take you to the county hospital for psychiatric evaluation, ID bracelet or not.

Now, on the other hand if you get pulled over by the police for plain ol' speeding and the cop thinks you're acting strange, and starts questioning you about it, a card stating your autism might help.

Personally, as someone with fairly severe Asperger's and PDD-NOS and GAD, I've never found myself in a situation where I wished I had some kind of tag saying "autistic". At least not so far.

I have a card in my wallet. Good to show people for why I won't respond to them.

I keep cards in my car, mainly in case I get pulled over while driving and get in a flap about it. Even when I am mega stressed out I would usually be capable enough to explain myself but just in case the cards make me feel a bit less worried.

This is an interesting idea. I've never thought about it before. I tend to split people in my life into one group who knows I have autism (by necessity usually) and one group that doesn't and can just think "she's a bit odd." I've trained my social skills well enough that I just seem a little off and everyone is always surprised to learn I have AS. On the other hand, I have quite extreme sensory problems and I do get meltdowns pretty regularly - though at this point I know when it's coming and am almost always able to get somewhere private, so most people have never seen me have one.

My concern with this idea, for my own personal situation, is that it's often important that people *don't* know I am autistic. For example, I'm currently looking for a new job, at a different preschool from the one where I am now, and if I tell prospective employers that I can't handle too much loud noise, they will certainly choose another applicant over me for working with young children. So a bracelet advertising my condition is not likely to be a good idea for me.

On the other hand, having a card handy might help. Those of you who say you use cards, where do you get them? Are they some kind of official medical card, or something homemade that just has information on it? Of course, I don't live in an English-speaking country and I'm not sure what the procedures are like around here. But on public transportation when I'm sitting in one of the "handicapped" seats, clutching my backpack and trying not to have a meltdown, occasionally someone will come up to me and flash a card with a green cross on it which means I have to get up and give them my seat. Might not be a bad idea to have one of those for the times when I need to huddle in the corner and try to hide until I get home. But then again, I'm not sure if doctors in this country would give out one of these cards for someone with AS rather than a physical issue...

The cards I have are nothing official, I bought them from the National Autistic Society, the following link shows the exact ones I have:

http://www.autism.org.uk/products/core- ... cards.aspx

From the site:

Thank you for all your great suggestions everyone. For those of you that seemed concerned about if law enforcement and stuff had to get involved, I really dream that I never have a meltdown in public bad enough where this would happen. I've only had one meltdown in a public place once in my life and I was with good friends and they did everything right even without some of them knowing that I was autistic. I thank gosh, even though in full blown meltdown mode I lose control emotionally, I can still talk somewhat coherently so most likely I could somewhat explain the situation to law enforcement if needed. I've only started to have a meltdown while driving once in my life too. I knew in that situation that I would be melting down completely soon and I held it in till I got to a parking lot and parked my car. I really hope neither happen again. Most of my meltdowns have been in the comfort of my own home, so only family have actually seen them. As far as the job thing goes, I don't think I would ever run into that issue. Also, if you are afraid to not be accepted for the job if they know your autistic, don't be. Legally I don't think they can do that. That would be considered discrimination because of a disability. You all have given me a lot of good things to think about. Thank you.

It's not discrimination if the disability could reasonably impair the person's ability to do the job. For example, if you were blind, it wouldn't be discrimination for a company not to hire you for a job delivering packages. It is reasonable to suggest that my disability could make me unsuitable to teach small children, and given the choice between me and an equally qualified person without a disability, I'm quite sure there are no laws that would push the company to hire me.

The same thing goes for things like freedom of religion. A company can't refuse to hire you just because you're Muslim, for example, but if your religion requires you to dress a certain way (or prevents you from wearing certain garments) a company with a standard uniform can either force you to wear the uniform or else fire you, even though your objection is based on your religion.

So yeah, unfortunately I do have to worry about employment. If I can prove that I am capable of doing a job, the company can't fire me because of a disability, but if the disability interferes with my work (and mine certainly does sometimes though I do my best to hide it), they are not obligated to accommodate me in any significant way. And there are a *lot* of people applying for the positions I want, so I have to compete with people who *wouldn't* ever require special accommodations. Essentially, if I can't do the job without extra help, they will hire someone else who can.

In any case, I'll have to consider visiting the local center for autism (a new thing in this country, yay!) and asking about disability laws for things like cards. Ones ordered off the internet in English will not be useful to me, as authorities here never speak English, and in any case I think if it's something anyone can buy, it's no proof of a disability - I could just be some jerk who bought the cards to excuse suspicious behavior.

I think the NAS cards are personalisable?

I think I prefer one of these Wrong Planet shirts that are being sold here.
So much more effective and more in people's face than a tiny bracelet.