Since her son Christian was diagnosed with autism at age 2, Linda Lee has had a hard time keeping him in one place.

He would run away with no clothes on, prompting Lee to put locks on the tops of the doors and on windows, but he would still figure out ways to climb out the windows or unlock the doors.

Lee was especially concerned because Christian also loved to run toward traffic and along the lines on the road.

“It was such a nightmare. I could never sleep because I was constantly afraid of him getting out,” said Lee, a former nurse and home health worker from Belfast. “It’s always a concern on any parent’s heart if their child gets out and runs away and they have no way to find their way home.”

Christian, who also goes by the nickname “Tiger,” is 15 now; and though he is less inclined to run away, his mother still lives with the fear that it could be a challenge to find him if he did. He always has been anxious around police and would run if he saw them, she says.

Then, last year, Lee read an article in The New York Times about a 14-year-old boy with autism named Avonte Oquendo, whose disappearance and subsequent death prompted lawmakers to propose a program that would provide electronic tracking devices to be worn by children with autism.

She took the article to Belfast Police Chief Mike McFaddon and asked if there was anything local police could do to create a similar safety program.

“He was quiet for a minute, and then he said, ‘You know, I’d love to have a database of these people in advance of when they go missing,’ ” Lee recalled. “There was no plan. I just started asking questions and people started asking, ‘Where can I get a form for this?’ So I went and made a form. People started asking for brochures, so I went and made a brochure.”

IDEA BLOOMS

Today the Wanderers Database is used by 22 agencies statewide. Police in Waterville, Winslow and Oakland adopted the program in September, and this month, agencies in Somerset County are launching the program along with another initiative to check on the elderly and home-bound.

The program is not limited to those affected by autism. It can be used to track others likely to wander, including people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Families interested in the program can pick up a brochure at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department or at the police stations in Fairfield, Madison, Pittsfield or Skowhegan.

The form asks for information such as a nickname, family members’ and caseworkers’ contact information and profile information that can be helpful in any contact with the person. Stimuli that typically trigger outbursts or help calm the person are listed. There is also a place for a recent photo.

Both the Wanderers Database and Friendly Callers, the program Somerset County is launching this month to provide daily telephone check-ins with the elderly and home-bound, are being implemented at no additional cost to the county.

“I think it’s great that local police will be able to pull this right up and look at the form,” said Cathy Dionne, director of programs and administration at the Autism Society of Maine, a group that provides support and educational resources to the public and families of those affected by autism.

The society partners with the Maine Warden Service on a similar program that registers people with autism or other developmental disabilities in case they wander away.

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