I first heard about the AngelSense GPS Tracking Device from the blog Autism Daddy. At the time L was just released from the ER, she was completely unstable, but they could not find her a bed in an inpatient hospital.
L was running more then three times a week. I was loosing track of her for more then 30 minutes at a time. She was suicidal and prone to risky behaviors - and she was running on the side of busy roads (in SoCal try and not find a busy road!).
I needed to try something and the AngelSense device looked perfect.
This is where I will interrupt my review to say that I was looking at this device for a gifted child with Aspergers who's IQ score for visual spatial ability is in the 99th percentile for her age. I say this because she is a kid who can figure out things that should not be figured out. My review is based on this.
If you are looking at this device for a child who is a bit more compliant then I would recommend that you check out the review by Autism Daddy - it will probably be more relevant (of course you can also finish reading mine).
The device website is great. You can chat with a customer service representative, all of which are autistic parents who are working from home. My first area of concern was that the device was secure. I was instructed that the device would securely attach to the inside of a pocket. I figured that with thirty days to try the device I would let L test it out. If she could detach it then I would return it - no loss on my part (all good intentions right?).
The interaction for the device is pretty great. It is a website that can be saved like an app on your mobile device - or activated directly from the website. You can call the device to hear where your child is, and you can receive updates when your child leaves or enters a location. I loved knowing that L left her Grandma's house, saw the bus schedule, and saw that she made it to school. The information was text to my phone and I did not have to worry.
About nine in the morning I decided to see how the dial feature worked. It didn't. I checked into the device and found that the signal could no longer be located. I honestly thought that maybe the signal was blocked by the school building.
No such luck. Less then four hours after attaching the device to the inside of my daughter's pocket she ripped it out and flushed it down the toilet. The device is not waterproof - at all!
It was extremely easy for her to detach the device. The tracker is put in a cloth case.
On both sides of the case their are little pins that go through the device and secure it to the pocket.
The pins themselves are only detached by a strong powerful magnet. It is pretty impressive.
What is not impressive is that the cloth itself is venerable. If you attach it to the inside of the pocket then the cloth is easy to rip - L is 10 and she apparently ripped it out with her bare hands without any problem. If you attach it to the outside material of the pocket then you can see the metal pins. It also could be cut out pretty easy, and depending on the material of the outside of the pants, it also could be ripped out. The case itself is cloth, so even if the pins stay to the clothes, the device's pouch could pretty easily be damaged.
L complained that she felt self conscious of having the device on her - which is why she flushed it down the toilet. However, she ripped it off because it was causing sensory problems.
With no device to return I paid the company a hundred dollars and they cancelled my service. The customer service was nice, and I think that AngelSense can do a lot of good for a lot of people. I wish I could write a raving review - I really want to. It would be a lie. For higher functioning children this device will, for the most part, be a waste of money. My main concern for children who are more compliant, and would not think of ripping the device out of their pocket, is that it may cause sensory overload.
The interaction with the device is great.
The updates from the device is great.
The security of the device on the person is severely flawed.
The durability of the device is almost non existent - it lasted less then four hours for us.
There is a concern of the device causing sensory issues. This is not a problem if the device is placed in a backpack - but what child takes their backpack when they wonder or run????
The company is great from my experience. I think the line could expand to something that would be more usable for other families.
L destroyed the device at the beginning of the school day. At the end of the day she ran. Thankfully her new school is better equipped at handling the running and she was ok. I, however, am still on the lookout for something that would better help us.
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