AngelSense. A review and peace of mind.

I am often asked to recommend a good GPS device. One name that I have heard time and again was AngelSense. So I was pretty happy when the company reached out to me and asked me to review their product for my blog and become a part of their affiliate program.  (Full disclosure. They provided me with the device and a few months of service for free.)

Now bolting hasn't always been an issue for the Kiddo till this year. Call it puberty. Call it all the changes in the three schools he's been in less than a year. It doesn't happen a lot but it has happened. He's also in a program now were he goes on a lot of outside the school instructional trips.  Twice a month his class stops at multiple locations on a single outing. Yeah, this "Smother" gets a little worried about that.

I will be very honest. I was extremely skeptical when I received it. It is kind of big but I have to say my son doesn't seem to care. I have it pinned in the pocket of his coat for now.  Come summer I will have to pin it to his waistband of his shorts.  Here is a short video of what it looks like and how to attach it to clothes.  You are given a special magnet key that helps take off the fasteners.  You cannot remove the fasteners without it.  Kiddo tried. That thing did not budge.

Here's a clip of what you get and how to attach it. 

This works in conjunction with a free app you can download to your smartphone.  The app itself is very user friendly. You can also set it up to send you text and email alerts when your kid is "on the go".  Another feature that I loved was it clocks how fast the van/bus goes with my Kiddo on it.

Oh Helllllo Speed Demon Van Driver. Let's have a chat, shall we?  (And now we have a different driver.) 

I can now track exactly where he is on the ride home.  That's pretty handy to know when I have to put on real pants and a bra to get him off the bus. ;-) 

When your child stops somewhere it will notify you and ask you to name it if it's a stop your child goes to regularly. (i.e. School, Grandma's, Speech Therapy, "Window Fries".)  I would say we have pretty much all of his usual haunts programmed in there now.  This has been great on the days when he has that multiple stop class trip. I can see exactly what part of the trip they are on.

Another neat feature. You can "listen in" to your child's environment simply by pressing a button on the app.  You can then listen on your phone to what's going on.  With all the changes that keep happening with the Kiddo, this has been a good feature just to check in on him.  It was highly amusing to hear him rattling off the exit signs on his bus ride to school.  My only complaint about this is it is really easy to get addicted to listening in ALL THE TIME.  (Helicopter Mom much?)  I've managed to ween myself off of this.  It's nice to know that I have it should we need it.  Also, it needs to be noted that what you hear isn't always crystal clear. It can be muffled sometimes but it's kind of to be expected. It's really no different than if you had your phone in your pocket and butt dialed someone.

You get about a day's worth of battery life with this.  It means charging it over night and I have a text alert set up to both remind me to plug it in and to attach it to the Kiddo the next morning.  Also a nice feature as I am Hella forgetful.

Translation: "Get off Twitter and go put the device in his pocket!" 

All in all, I went from "Well, we'll see if this works." to "TEAM ANGELSENSE!"  It's serious peace of mind for this autism mom and I'm kind of kicking myself for not have tried it sooner.   (Especially when stuff was so bad at his old school.)  If you have been following me a while now, you know I don't usually post product reviews or affiliate links. It's usually because the stuff folks send me to review does not live up to the hype.  I don't want to waste your time or money getting your hopes up.  This product, for us, works. If elopement is a worry of yours or just want a little extra security, this is money well spent.

If you are looking to order one for your loved one with autism or just for more product info, click here!AngelSense (Full disclosure. This is an affiliate link, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase this device using this link.) So if you have been wondering about this product, I can say it honestly delivered and then some.

Side of fries for you AngelSense!