u/RowTime8498

Sensory tolerance seems to be the most important thing with wearable trackers. For those of you whose child will actually keep something on: what was it? Compression fit vs loose, soft knit vs elastic, hidden under clothing vs visible, introduced gradually?

Full disclosure (Why I'm asking): I'm a 17 year old founder and I'm building a GPS tracker for kids who wander, currently on Kickstarter, and I'm designing the band now. Not here to promote anything, I'd love your input on what's worked for parents who've figured it out.

I keep hearing the same three problems from parents: clip-on trackers come off when clothes get changed, anything scratchy gets pulled off and thrown within a day, and wrist things get chewed or thrown away.

For parents who've figured it out, what's worked? E.g. Waist, ankle, wrist, sewn into clothing, something else? And was it the position that was what mattered or the material?

Disclosure: I'm a 17 year old founder and I launched a GPS tracker on Kickstarter for kids with autism, ADHD and Down syndrome who wander. I'm designing the wearable version right now and I want to build what parents actually need than just guess. Not here to promote anything, just want advice on what's worked for you (Disclosure included for Rule 4 "Surveys require extra info").

I keep hearing the same three problems from parents: clip-on trackers come off when clothes get changed at school, anything scratchy gets pulled off within a day, and wrist things get chewed or thrown away.

For parents who've figured it out, what's worked? E.g. Waist, ankle, wrist, sewn into clothing, something else? And was it the position that was what mattered or the material?

Disclosure (Why I'm asking): I'm a 17 year old founder and I launched a GPS tracker on Kickstarter for kids with autism, ADHD and Down syndrome who wander. I'm designing the wearable version right now and I want to build what parents actually need than just guess. Not here to promote anything, just want advice on what's worked for you

Hey everyone, my name is Ashwin, I'm an 17-year-old entrepreneur from Canada. I recently launched StepSafe Kids, a GPS wearable device for children with special needs. I'm looking for Investors to take this company to the next level. I launched the Kickstarter campaign 5 days ago, and got funded in the first 14 hours, selected as one of Kickstarters "Projects we Love" and now sitting at CA$10,170 (203% funded). Since I'm only 17, my budget for this project is very low (as I don't have much money, putting all my savings into it). I've launched the Kickstarter just to measure, and prove that there is demand for this product. I'm sure I can raise a considerable amount from Kickstarter itself, but having an experienced investor in the team that's interested in the product and wants to work with me long-term will be the most beneficial thing I can ask for for the company, as I hope to scale this to DTC and retail once the campaign closes. If anyone is interested, I'd love to set up a meeting to get to know each other, explain what's different about this compared to other GPS trackers, the reasons why you'd want to invest, risks, and everything in between.

Link of the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable

Website: https://stepsafekids.com/

Hi everyone,

My name's Ashwin, I'm from Mississauga, and I launched my first hardware product on Kickstarter.

StepSafe Kids is a cellular GPS tracker for children with autism, ADHD or Down syndrome who wander and elope. It's built for the situation every one of these parents describes the same way: you look away for a second, and they're gone.

One of the main reasons I built it is cost. The leading product in this space costs around $60 USD a month, and that's after you've bought the device. Over five years that's thousands of dollars just to know where your child is. Families who need it most are often the ones that can't afford it. Ours is an early bird price of $99 USD for the device plus $9.99 a month, or a one-time purchase of $249 USD with no subscription at all.

It's Cellular, not Bluetooth, so it works anywhere there's signal instead of needing someone with a phone to walk past (unlike AirTags). Our device has live tracking down to 20-second interval updates, with an emergency refresh button to see their location in real-time. And the microphone is permanently disabled in firmware, which is what gets it approved by schools that ban recording devices in classrooms.

I'm very happy to say that we (Don't know why I keep saying "we" it's basically just me and Meta Ads 😅) funded in about 14 hours. Kickstarter's editorial team just selected it as a Project We Love as well.

The best part has honestly been the comments tbh. Parents have redesigned the wearable for me. One suggested an attachment system that's better than anything I'd come up with, and it's now what I'm talking about with manufacturers. There's a live poll on the campaign right now asking parents which wear style would actually work for their kid.

I've also made a "Gift a Family" tier to help get the device into families in need, first year of service on us. If you'd like to support the mission, interested on getting updates, or would like to grab a device yourself, here's the Kickstarter Link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable

Hey everyone, my name is Ashwin, I'm an 17-year-old entrepreneur from Canada. I recently launched StepSafe Kids, a GPS wearable device for children with special needs. I'm looking for investors to take this company to the next level. I launched the Kickstarter campaign 2 days ago, and got funded in the first 14 hours and now sitting at CA$8,040 (160% funded). Since I'm only 17, my budget for this project is very low (as I don't have much money, putting all my savings into it though), and I'm almost out of money. However, ads have been doing exceptional, with a 4-5x ROAS, bringing in a considerable amount of backers. I only have a few hundred dollars left, and to keep up such an amazing ad campaign, I need extra cash. Would love to setup a meeting with someone who has experience investing in companies from the start and can guide me through the campaign and beyond.

Link of the Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable

Website: https://stepsafekids.com/

Hey everyone, my name is Ashwin, I'm an 17-year-old entrepreneur from Canada. I recently launched StepSafe Kids, a GPS wearable device for children with special needs. I'm looking for Angel Investors to take this company to the next level. I launched the Kickstarter campaign 2 days ago, and got funded in the first 14 hours and now sitting at CA$8,040 (160% funded). Since I'm only 17, my budget for this project is very low (as I don't have much money, putting all my savings into it though), and I'm almost out of money. However, ads have been doing exceptional, with a 4-5x ROAS, bringing in a considerable amount of backers. I only have a few hundred dollars left, and to keep up such an amazing ad campaign, I need extra cash. Would love to setup a meeting with someone who has experience investing in companies from the start and can guide me through the campaign and beyond.

Link of the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable

Website: https://stepsafekids.com/

I'm Ashwin, a high schooler based in Mississauga. I've been working on StepSafe Kids for about six months and it launched on Kickstarter today.

It's a cellular GPS tracker for kids who wander, real GPS rather than Bluetooth, so it doesn't need a nearby phone. The unit is manufactured by JIMI IoT, I'm rebranding an existing hardware platform rather than designing the board myself. The microphone is disabled in firmware rather than removed at the board level. FCC certifications are done and Canadian ISED certification are both in progress, not finished.

Early Bird is CA$139, capped at 200 backers, or CA$349 once for lifetime service with no subscription. Ships February 2027.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable?ref=6v802c

I'm Ashwin, based in Mississauga. I've been working on StepSafe Kids for about six months and it launched on Kickstarter today.

It's a cellular GPS tracker for kids who wander, real GPS rather than Bluetooth, so it doesn't need a nearby phone. The unit is manufactured by JIMI IoT, I'm rebranding an existing hardware platform rather than designing the board myself. The microphone is disabled in firmware rather than removed at the board level. FCC and Canadian ISED certification are both in progress, not finished.

Early Bird is CA$139, capped at 200 backers, or CA$349 once for lifetime service with no subscription. Ships February 2027.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable?ref=6v802c

Anyone else find that IEP or safety plan meetings about wandering or elopement tend to be really vague on specifics? I heard this from a bunch of parents while researching this stuff: schools are usually well-meaning but end up with a plan that says something like staff will supervise closely, which doesn't actually tell anyone what to do if a kid bolts during recess or a fire drill.

I ended up putting together a rough fill-in template that pushes for the specifics: who's responsible for headcounts at transitions, what the door and gate protocol is, who calls parents and at what point, what happens differently during unstructured time like recess or assemblies. The idea is you bring it TO the meeting instead of writing something from scratch during it, which seems to change the dynamic a lot.

Happy to share the link if useful, just comment or DM me. It's a free, fill-in style download meant to hand to the school team and work through together.

I'm interested to know, have others here have gotten schools to actually commit to something concrete like this, or if it's always a fight. What's worked for you?

I know wandering and elopement gets talked about mostly in autism spaces, but a good chunk of the parents I talked to over the past several months have ADHD kids too, and the impulsivity side of things (running toward something interesting without registering the risk, bolting from a boring situation) creates a lot of the same danger, just with a different 'why' behind it.

I put the whole thing into one toolkit: emergency ID info, a first-responder script, a first-10-minutes action plan, and a few other things. Happy to share the link if useful, just comment or DM me.

If you've got an ADHD kid who's bolted or wandered, I'm interested to know if whether the triggers are the same way they seem to for autism families, or if it looks pretty different for you.

Full disclosure: I'm also launching a tracker on Kickstarter next month, but this resource is free forever regardless, no strings attached.

Hey everyone! My name is Ashwin and I am a 17 year old from Canada. I'm building a GPS tracker with fall detection that hides inside a shoe insole.

Originally designed for kids who wander, but I've heard from people that adults and teens with TBI sometimes have balance issues or disorientation. Would a hidden GPS + fall detection be useful for this community?

The device sits in the heel. Invisible. 5-7 day battery.

Features:

• Real-time GPS tracking (cellular)
• Fall detection (alerts caregiver if you fall and don't get up. Almost no false alarms. Happy to answer how it works if you are curious :)
• Safe zone alerts
• "Lost mode" for faster updates

Price: $59 device + $14.99/month

Kickstarter late June.

Is this something that would help? What would make it more useful for TBI specifically?

I wanted to ask a few questions:

Hey everyone! My name is Ashwin and I'm a 17 year old highschooler from Canada. I'm building a GPS tracker that hides inside a shoe insole for kids. Completely invisible and they can't remove it, lose it, or even know it's there.

If they leave your yard or a safe zone, you get an instant alert with their exact location.

Some of the Features:

• Real-time GPS tracking (cellular, not Bluetooth)
• Fall detection (alerts if they fall and stay down, doesn't alert if they just take a small fall and keep playing. Only serious falls)
• Safe zone alerts
• Separation alarm: alerts when they get too far from your phone (you can set the exact distance)
• Bluetooth finder for close-range searching

Price: $59 device + $14.99/month and launching on Kickstarter late June.

Some common questions I get are:

"Why not AirTag?": No real GPS. Relies on nearby iPhones. Fails in parks/rural areas. No fall detection.

"Why not Apple Watch?": Kids remove them. Dies daily. $400+. And the fall detection was made for adults, not kids.

"What if they take shoes off?": Working on 2-pack option and wristband for v2.

One weakness I find right now is kids who love to wear slippers.

Originally, I started this to give my parents a peace of mind.

But would this actually give peace of mind? Would you buy this? What features would matter most?

Thanks in advance :)

Hey r/specialed, I'm developing a GPS tracker for kids who wander/elope from school or home. It's hidden inside a shoe insole so kids can't remove it.

I've heard from parents that some schools object to GPS watches (especially ones with microphones like AngelSense) because of privacy/recording concerns. This device has NO microphone, just GPS and fall detection.

For teachers and aides here, would a device like this make your job easier when working with kids who bolt? What would make it school-friendly? (I was thinking maybe tiered access where teachers see "at school" but not exact location)

For parents:

Has your child's school objected to GPS trackers before?

What features matter most to you?

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, hope ya'lls day has been well. I'm building a GPS tracker with fall detection for kids, and I wanted to get feedback from this community.

The device sits inside a shoe insole (hidden in the heel). It tracks location AND detects falls using motion sensors.

Fall detection logic:

• Triggers on impact + sudden orientation change + stillness OR abnormal movement
• Does NOT trigger on normal sitting down or controlled movements.
• Adjustable sensitivity (low/medium/high).

I know falls can be a real concern for kids with Cerebral Palsy, and parents can't always be right there. Would getting an instant alert when a fall happens be useful for your family?

Also wondering:

• Do your kids use orthotics? Would a removable module that sits alongside orthotics work better?
• Is GPS tracking also valuable, or is fall detection the main thing?

Trying to build something that actually helps. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! Hope ya'll are having a wonderful day. I'm developing a GPS tracker specifically for kids who wander or elope. The difference from existing trackers: it's hidden inside a shoe insole (there will be other options like a clip-on and wristband as well)

I've been talking to parents in the autism community and the #1 complaint is that kids remove watches, lose clips, or refuse to wear anything visible. An insole solves that. They literally can't take it off without taking off their shoes.

Features I'm building:

• Real-time GPS tracking
• "Lost mode" with faster location updates
• Safe zone alerts
• No microphone (schools can't object to it, complies with all privacy laws as well).

I know many kids with Down syndrome also wander, especially those with cognitive delays. I'd love to hear from this community:

• Is elopement/wandering a concern for your family?
• What's missing from current GPS solutions?
• Would an insole form factor work, or do your kids often go barefoot (can be solved with having a wristband or clip-on)?

Planning a Kickstarter launch in late June. Any feedback helps me build something actually useful. Thank you so much in advance!!

P.S. I do not want to promote anything (hence why I'm leaving no links), but a lot of people have been asking to join the waitlist, so if you are interested, feel free to leave a comment or DM me :)