Medical ID's for Autism

Well I recently ordered and received in the mail medical ID's for all three of my kids.  This was a long debated decision on my part.  On the one hand, I don't want them to be further isolated by their peers or make them stand out more in any way.  But on the flip side, obviously I want them to stay safe.  I researched online for a long time trying to find out if children with Autism or SID need medical id's and the info was as equally mixed as my own opinion.  Even our doctor's and therapists couldn't give us any real solid advice.  What finally sealed the deal in ordering them was when my eldest son got "lost" at Church.  Now we go to a large church and he was in the building, so he wasn't really in any  major danger and I only lost sight of him for a few minutes.  In that few minutes, I saw all of my coaching and role-playing go out the window.  You see before we went on vacation this year, we practiced and practiced "What do you do if you get lost?" And he had it down and would tell me every time.  He knows my cell number so he is supposed to find a mommy with little kids and tell them his phone number.  Anyways he comes out of the bathroom at church where I am waiting for him, and I think he is following me and turn towards the door.  Now we usually go out a different door so he heads another direction.  A minute later, I turn around to see he is not behind me and call his name.  I am still looking around for him when I hear a scream and he, in full meltdown mode, is running back and forth down the hall in a complete panic.  I run down and grab him and he of course is inconsolable for a few minutes after which I ask him, "What are you supposed to do if you get lost?" A question he has answered correctly a million times at home.  He sobs out, "I don't know."

That sealed the deal, I started looking for medical ID's the next day.  I just kept thinking, "What if this had happened on vacation instead of in the safety of out church?"  

Then of course I got to thinking about the other two.  I thought about what my Princess would do if she got lost and even my husband agreed, she would curl up into a ball and cry refusing to tell anyone even her name.  She has sensory integration disorder and severe social anxiety.  And then Little Guy, well he can't even talk much at all yet and I don't know when he will be able to say his name.  Not to mention he has food allergies on top of his other issues.  We had already discussed getting him an id before he went into the Pre-k Sunday School class since they serve snacks in there and the combination of allergies and Autism related speech delay would not be a good combo.  So we decided to order all of them one.  We went with http://www.americanmedical-id.com/ which by the way has a deal where if you order more than one, the other's are half off.  So I was able to get two of the children's for half the price.  The older two went with the sports bands which look just like camo canvas bracelets and are adjustable and the buckle is tight enough they can't get it off on their own.  For little guy, we ordered an all metal one with a safety clasp.  These are actually the best option if you have a lot of information that needs to be engraved because there are two sides and the plate is larger than on the sports bands.  So far the two older kids only want to wear theirs when we go out which is fine.  I just keep them in my purse.  I have left little guys on since we got it and it doesn't bother him a bit.

I decided to post about this mainly because of the lack of info I could find on the matter.  Are they necessary, I don't know.  I tend to lean on the more paranoid side, but they definitely make me feel better about their safety.