On a chilly Saturday morning in Eden Prairie, you could feel the warmth and love as “Autism Mom” and community activist Sheletta Brundidge handed out free door locks and connected with parents of children with autism who understand all too well the tendency of these children to wander.
“These kids are young and fast and we are old and slow,” said Brundidge, who is mother to three children on the autism spectrum. Brundidge researched keyless electronic interior combination door locks after her youngest, Daniel, got out of the house on a below-zero day in January. When she was just about ready to dial 911, Brundidge looked out the window. “He was jumping on the trampoline in the backyard, on top of the ice.”
The locks Brundidge hands out at her giveaway events require a six to 10-digit code on the inside of the doorknob and a key bypass for fire or safety hazards. Brundidge coordinates with fire and police departments before selecting the locks she buys.
The event on Saturday, Nov. 2, honored the memory of 11-year-old Mohamed Mohamed, a nonverbal boy diagnosed with autism. Search crews recovered Mohamed’s body in a pond near his Eden Prairie home just hours after he was reported missing on Oct. 20. He slipped out of the house when his mom was getting dressed.
“You see it here at this event, a parent will be getting ice cream or talking to another parent and the next thing you know, the child is across the parking lot,” said Brundidge. “It’s not that the kids are being naughty or disobedient. They just have it in them to run.”
Miriam Bordon would add climbing to that list. She says her 5-year-old son Yadiel, who is autistic, is very fast. “There’s been a few times he's been able to open the door and he climbs the fence and takes off running toward the road.” Bordon recalled one instance where she suffered bloody feet and a panic attack after chasing Yadiel. Bordon attended the event outside Fraser Autism Center in Eden Prairie, where she receives services for Yadiel. “He was diagnosed with autism when he was 1 year old. He also has severe aggression and can go three days without sleep.” Bordon and her husband have started taking turns sleeping with Yadiel, but she wanted to do more and came to the event to pick up a lock.
Hector Reyes traveled to Eden Prairie from White Bear Lake to attend the lock giveaway. Like Bordon, he worries about his four-year-old daughter Dalary, who is also active in the middle of the night. “She’ll wake up a couple times and she’s started opening doors and going into other rooms. She hasn’t gotten out of the house yet, but we worry.” Reyes received three locks at the event for the three exterior doors on his home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of children with autism were reported to wander. Of those children who wander, one in four were missing long enough to cause concern and were most commonly in danger of drowning or traffic injury.
“A lot of kids with autism don’t have safety awareness and are very impulsive,” said Rachel Gardner, vice president of center-based services at Fraser. “They don’t quite understand how to keep themselves safe, so we must think about how we can modify our environment to do that for them and locks like these are essential so parents can do other things they have to do around the house.”
Gardner said the partnership with Brundidge has not only provided life-saving locks to parents but also helps families feel heard and connected. “She relates to so many of these families.”
Brundidge said that’s the goal, to bring parents of autistic children together to prevent another part of the struggle: isolation. “At an event like this, we’re not only passing out locks, but you can meet another parent who has a child with autism so you can connect, make a friend and feel like you’re not alone, like you’re not a bad parent. These parents can find their people, their community, their tribe.”
Fraser therapists were on hand to be with the children at the giveaway, so their parents could engage with others. Kids enjoyed ice cream treats and the event left everyone, volunteers and parents, with a sense of joy and gratitude. “We appreciate the help,” said Reyes before heading home to White Bear Lake with his family. “This is awesome. God is going to bless you guys.”
Anyone interested in helping Brundidge donate locks can go to www.shelettamakesmelaugh.com and click on the “donate a lock” icon on the homepage. They will be directed to Brundidge’s Amazon registry, where they can donate a lock to be given away.