Meet the Mom Working to Prevent Drowning Among Autistic Children

When Sheletta Brundidge found out that Minnesota police had found the body of a missing 4-year-old boy with autism, she knew she had to go support his family.

The boy, Waeys Ali Mohamed, had been reported missing the day before and police believe he wandered into a creek, where he drowned, according to KARE television station.

“I don’t want another child to drown,” she told USA TODAY Thursday afternoon. “I don’t want another mother to cry. I don’t want another funeral for a little child who doesn’t speak, who has autism, who drowned.”

Autism is used to describe a range of conditions that include difficulty with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, according to the nonprofit Autism Speaks.

Brundidge lives in Cottage Grove, Minn., about 13 miles southeast of St. Paul. Her oldest child, a boy, is 17. Her three youngest children have all been diagnosed with autism and are 9, 10 and 11.

Some autistic children tend to wander off and may be drawn to water, not realizing that it can be dangerous.

That’s why she started her own initiative called “Spread Love with Locks” to make sure parents in need have locks to protect their children. She’s worked with police departments, YMCAs, and even Amazon to distribute the locks to families in need.

One of her next contests will be in Sutton, Massachusetts, about 50 miles southwest of Boston. That’s where Eva, a 4-year-old autistic girl, drowned in a neighbor’s pool on July 11.

Learn more: Missing 4-year-old Massachusetts girl found unconscious in neighbor’s pool

Teaching Children with Autism About Water Safety

Drowning is a leading cause of injury death in children, especially children under 4 and adolescents. That rate is even higher among children with autism, said Lindsay Naeder, vice president of services and support at Autism Speaks.

“In children with autism, the risk of drowning is actually 160 times higher than in the general population,” she told USA TODAY Thursday afternoon, citing a Columbia University study. “Of the dozens of cases that occur each week, unfortunately, 75 to 90 percent of wandering-related deaths are also due to drowning.”

She explained that children with autism often stray from their place of safety. This is also called “running away from safety,” she explained.

And according to a study published in the journal PediatricsNearly a third of wandering incidents occurred in schools.

Naeder said the organization surveyed families in the community and found that 50 percent of those surveyed had experienced homelessness.

And when kids are out and about, they’re often drawn to bodies of water, whether it’s a swimming pool, the ocean, a lake, a drainage ditch, a water treatment plant or something else.

“The first lesson taught to the autistic community in swimming and water safety is how to stay out of the water,” she said, adding that there are private groups and community organizations like the YMCA and Swim Angelfish that specialize in working with children with special needs.

But sometimes private lessons can be expensive, she said.

“Private lessons are much more expensive than open group lessons, so unfortunately there is a paywall in terms of access for families of those with more intensive support needs,” Naeder said.

‘Fugue’ Her son ran away from home and died. This mother wants you to know the dangers of running away.

Mom recommends coded locks to stop autistic kids from leaving home

Any child can drift away from their parents very quickly, so when Brundidge saw that her friend had a keypad lock on the front door of her new house, she wondered if any companies made them to install inside the home.

She first searched at a local store, but was unsuccessful. She then went to several other stores and tried her luck with Amazon.

She thought about experiences she had with her own children, especially her son. That led her to purchase four locks: one for her basement, one for the garage, one for an office and one for the front door.

The locks require a six- to 10-digit code to open and also come with keys that caretakers can set aside, Brundidge said.

“When he tries to enter that code, he can’t,” she said. “He’s tried two or three times. The door locks, but it beeps. That lets me know he’s trying to get out of the house. About a week after we installed those door locks, he stopped trying… We haven’t had an incident where he’s wandered off in two years.”

She often orders and donates the following products:

The tragedy: Body of 3-year-old autistic boy found after disappearance from resort near Disney

“I’ve already done this work, why am I going to sit on it?”

Brundidge said it can be difficult to find resources for children with autism. Sometimes it takes a while to get resources because you have to wait for an official diagnosis, she said.

She had to do a lot of research to get help for her children and found scholarships, grants that will pay for therapy services that insurance won’t cover, and more.

But even though she managed to find resources for her children, it was a daunting task, so she does what she can to make it easier for other parents.

She runs free workshops for parents with special needs, helping them find resources for their families. Today, she’s known as “The Autistic Mom.”

She said everything she’s learned about helping her children has been passed down to her by other parents. She’s just doing her part, she said.

“If I’ve already done this work, why am I going to sit on it?” said Brundidge, who also owns an online media platform with weekly podcasts called SHElettaMakesMeLaugh.

“It’s my job to take that information and those resources and pass it on to the mom who works day and night and the dad who cares for his autistic children.”

Autistic Children Take Center Stage At This Mom’s Events

Brundidge said that at his events there were also booths selling face painting, tattoos and balloons.

She wants to help families keep their children safe, yes, but she also wants to show families that their children come first and that they can have fun in a space that is safe for them.

“Special needs kids are always the last ones on the bus,” she said. “We’re the last ones in the cafeteria. Our kids are the last ones on the playground. We’re the last ones to get to school and we’re always the last ones to leave. At my events, I want to make sure they know they’re first.”

She also stressed that it is important for people to show mercy to autistic children and their parents.

Often people see children with autism and think they’re just being disobedient, Brundidge said.

“We have all these measures in place, we work hard to keep our children safe, but still, things happen,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can. We’re doing everything we can and what we need is prayers and support, not judgments and condemnations.”

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She hails from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or send him an email at [email protected].