How AngelSense Can Keep Your Child Safe
AngelSense is a functional tracking system that can help keep kids with autism safe. By using notifications via text messages or emails, the system alerts parents when and if their kid is in danger so they can notify authorities fast.
We first learned about AngelSense through a chat with Doron Somer, the creator of the service. Doron is the father of a nonverbal child with autism. Like many parents, he worried about ensuring his child’s safety, but his son’s condition presented an issue with communication. Doron devised a sophisticated converted cell phone that functions as a GPS tracker to make sure the van that transported his son didn’t stop anywhere unexpected. Subsequently, he and his partners developed AngelSense, an app that protects persons with disability by allowing family members to track their whereabouts accurately and efficiently.
What is AngelSense?
AngelSense is a wearable GPS tracking device created with children with autism in mind. The Locator allows parents to know where their child is at all times, and if their child goes anywhere unexpected. The device does this by sending emails or text messages to the parent whenever a child goes to a marked or unmarked destination. The device also features a “runner mode” that shows a child’s exact location on a map.
Furthermore, parents can also use the microphone feature to listen to what’s happening with their kid at all times. Other features include a group alarm that messages a trusted group of people with a view of the child’s location and a late departure warning if one’s child hasn’t left a destination on time.
Children can’t tamper with the case, and they can wear it in several ways. Many parents attach the device to their child’s clothes with robust fasteners supplied by the company. Others use the belt, which is perfect for girls or children who are not potty-trained. The concept behind this system is that the fasteners can only be opened with a special magnetic key that comes with the kit. Parents can charge the device each night before reattaching it to the belt.
How is AngelSense Useful?
First and foremost, for parents who have a child that has a propensity for wandering or running off and getting lost, which is a terrifying possibility, AngelSense is quite life-saving. Beyond the immediate dangers of elopement, there are a lot of unfortunate stories in the media about caretaker abuse towards children with special needs.
Children with disabilities are often overwhelmingly the target of such abuses and extreme punishments by authority figures.One recent story this year involves a California teacher’s aide physically harming a nine-year-old with special needs in her classroom. Special needs children are also frequently the target of bullying by their peers. This fact is especially a problem for children who are nonverbal or cannot communicate a problem to their parents.
Parents may also worry about their children being abducted, especially if they are less able to get away from an abductor.
How Much Does it Cost?
Parents can pay for AngelSense in a month to month service plan or yearly service plan. The service typically costs $39.99 per month, though there are sometimes discounts and coupons. There is also a one-time fee of $149 for the kit itself though there are promotions discounting it throughout the year.
What we liked
We think that AngelSense serves a unique purpose and features great design. The kit with its different components comes in a box and contains the phone, plug-in recharger, fabric belt, and magnets. We thought that the plastic casing and the magnet system work reasonably well and are virtually impossible to tamper with.
As parents to a son with autism, we liked that we could trace our son’s whereabouts at all times. We also liked that we could listen in and check on him if we saw his location was unknown to us.
Parents should also remember to mark the places their kids go to regularly. This way, the system can identify their location correctly at all times. If the child goes to a place not labeled in the system, the device will alert the parent that their child is going to an unknown destination. Parents can then either mark the destination correctly or investigate further. We decided to do that after a few days of using the system to help us with watching over our son.
AngelSense has shared with us an exciting new feature called AngelCall that is currently in Beta testing but will soon be available to all subscribers. The feature will allow parents to talk to their child at any time without needing to click on anything. This will be especially helpful for parents of nonverbal and low functioning kids! In fact, parents taking part in the Beta test group have already used AngelCall to instruct their children to stop before crossing a busy road or stay calm after a car crash.Developers hope that this feature can aid kids transition smoothly between activities hence allowing them to become more independent.
The drawbacks
The device itself is the size and weight of a small smartphone and might be uncomfortable for some to wear. When asked about it, AngelSense founders explained the size is essential for the system to be able to efficiently monitor the child for the entire day with detailed routes and fast alerts.
Due to the size, it can take the kid wearing the device a few days to get used to it. Our son complained the belt was uncomfortable and opted to wear it in a back pant pocket. The company website demonstrated the multiple ways kids can wear the device in this video. An alternative to wearing the device, though not as good, might be to carry it in their school bags.
For us, the biggest challenge turned out to be remembering to charge the device every day. To help with that Angel Sense has a system that reminds subscribers every evening to do just that via text. Our son started recharging the device on his own by the second week.
Our Takeaway
All in all, we think that AngelSense is an excellent way to give parents peace of mind. Many reviews emphasize how AngelSense can allow children with disabilities more freedom and independence. Though apparently created for nonverbal kids in mind this system can help many others to stay safe.
With the service, parents don’t have to have their child by their side at all times to ensure their safety. We think that, at the very least, Angel Sense gives parents of children with autism another tool to ensure they can live safe and enjoyable lives.
Have you tried AngelSense ? Come share your experiences and thoughts with us.
Disclaimer
We were sent an AngelSense kit to try out for a month for this review but the opinions expressed in this post are our own.As parents to a son with autism we understand the importance of keeping kids safe so we have decided to become the company’s affiliate .Should you decide to try the system please use this link as a way to help support our website.
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It’s great that you are getting thoughts from this piece of writing as
well as from our argument made here.
Thanks for keeping us informed.
We love angelsense. Since it is a size of a cell phone we put son’s angelsense in a phone belt clip and he wears it that way. It doesn’t bother him and everyone just thinks it’s a cell phone. His cell phone, by the way, he keeps in his pocket.
Hi Elise,
I am so happy to hear that. Good idea about the belt clip particularly for young adults.
Hi Maggie,
I m glad you found it helpful. As parents, the safety of our kids is on our minds on a continuous basis particularly when it comes to special needs kids. THAT’S why I was so excited to hear about this system and introduce it to my readers.
Feel free to stay in touch and tell mehow it worked out for you!
Best,
Margalit
Thank you for the very detailed review of Angelsense. We were thinking about getting it and now we will for sure! I love the idea of being able to see exactly where my daugher is all the time. She tends to wander off and has no sense of danger. Thanks again!