Free locks and peace of mind being handed out in St. Paul after missing autistic teen is found

It was a happy ending when a St. Paul teen who went missing on Friday, June 26, was reported to be “located and safe” by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Sunday, June 28.

That’s not always the case. “We call this the drowning season,” said Sheletta Brundidge, known as the autism mom and founder of ShelettaMakesADifference.org.

Brundidge is hosting an interior combination lock giveaway on Saturday, July 11^th, to arm parents with a tool to keep their kids safe. She’s hosted many lock giveaways, and nearly all of them have been after the drowning death of an autistic child who wandered.

Brundidge said summer interferes with the routines that are helpful to kids with autism. “Everything is out of whack, and kids are all over the place. When that overstimulation happens, routine changes, schedules shift, and they get extra excited. The next thing you know, they dart out of the house.”

Brundidge said her youngest, Daniel, was a wanderer. “I was not able to pee or bathe with the door closed for 3 years because he would always try to dart out of the house.”

For parents of autistic children, the danger is amplified because kids with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than any other group. Brundidge said it’s not as easy as just teaching them to swim. “If they can’t learn their name and they can’t follow simple commands, it’s almost impossible to teach some of them to swim. And they’re drawn to water.”

When Brundidge was in the thick of it with her son Daniel, she tried every type of lock she could find. “Combinations, chains, gates, chirps on the doors. But as he got older, he was able to get through all that stuff.”

That’s when Brundidge picked up an interior combination door lock, available on Amazon, Walmart, and other online retailers for $40 to $50. Each lock is programmed with a 6 to 10-digit code. “Let me tell you, it reprogrammed his mind,” Brundidge explained. “One or two weeks of trying to get out of the house, and he stopped. He no longer wanders.”

Brundidge’s free lock giveaway event in St. Paul on July 11^th is an opportunity to get more interior combination locks into the hands of parents of autistic children. 

“For some, the cost is a barrier,” Brundidge said. By partnering with organizations, Brundidge and her nonprofit ShelettaMakesADifference.org will have 100 free combination interior locks to give away to local families. Not only will parents get locks, but they’ll get peace of mind.

The lock giveaway on Saturday, July 11, is hosted by ShelettaMakesADifference.org and is happening from 10 a.m. to noon at the Hallie Q Brown Center at 270 N Kent St. in St. Paul. There will also be ice cream, face painting, and balloon animals for kids attending the event. Learn more at: https://www.shelettamakesadifference.org/