Florida’s New Spectrum Alert: Protecting Children With Autism When Minutes Matter

Florida’s groundbreaking Spectrum Alert system is an urgently needed innovation to protect one of our state’s most vulnerable groups: children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The new law, effective July 1, 2025 directs the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and partner agencies to mobilize rapidly when a child with autism is reported missing. It integrates with Florida’s existing statewide alert infrastructure so information can reach the public fast.

The Crisis We Must Confront - Autism & Drownings

2025 is already the deadliest year on record for child drownings in Florida. As of mid-August, 79 children have drowned—18 of them on the autism spectrum. Since 2021, a heartbreaking 155 children with autism have drowned statewide. Among children age 5 and older, nearly 60% of drownings involve a child with autism. These numbers underscore a stark reality: children with autism are about 160 times more likely to die from drowning than their neurotypical peers.

The risk isn’t abstract. In late July, five-year-old Jaylen Saintelien disappeared from his family’s new home in Collier County; despite a multi-agency search through the night, he was found in a nearby pond the next morning. The difference between safety and tragedy was only a matter of minutes.

Why the Spectrum Alert Matters

Immediate, targeted notification. When a child with autism goes missing, Spectrum Alert enables law enforcement to push out critical details quickly tailored with ASD-specific considerations like a child’s potential non-responsiveness to their name and a tendency to head toward water. The system is built within Florida’s existing alert framework operated by FDLE, ensuring the same statewide reach and rigor.

Proven broadcast channels. Florida’s alert network disseminates information through the Emergency Alert System, digital highway signs, and even Florida Lottery terminals, alongside media and other channels maximizing the number of eyes looking for a child in danger. Spectrum Alert is designed to leverage these same mechanisms.

Training for better outcomes. The law doesn’t just flip a switch on alerts; it requires training so first responders understand ASD-specific behaviors and needs improving search tactics, communication, and de-escalation in those critical first hours.

Drowning Prevention: Still the Top Priority

Prevention remains our strongest defense. Florida and community partners are expanding access to free or subsidized swim lessons and water-safety education, including programs adapted for autistic learners. The state’s Swim Lesson Voucher Program is open this season, and newsrooms across Florida have highlighted specialized autism-aware swim instruction that’s already saving lives.

Local organizations are stepping up, too—funding instructor training specific to autism, publishing free water-safety guides for families, and bringing lessons directly to schools serving autistic students.

What Families Can Do Now

• Know the alert. If your child with autism goes missing, call 911 immediately and communicate ASD-specific details (wandering patterns, water attraction, sensory triggers). Spectrum Alert is designed to move those details fast.

  
  

• Use registries where available. Many Florida police departments offer voluntary special-needs registries (often called “Special Needs,” “Take Me Home,” or similar) so responders have vital information at their fingertips during emergencies. Check your local agency’s website.

  
  

• Layer your protection. Install door/window alarms, assign a designated Water Watcher during gatherings, and ensure multiple barriers to pools at home. Pair this with autism-aware swim lessons as early as possible.

  
  

• Share a safety plan. Provide neighbors and caregivers with a recent photo, likely destinations (especially nearby water), and guidance on how best to approach your child.

  
  

• Protect what matters most. Discover how Vivint and Spectrum 360 help keep your family safe. Call 800-971-5244 to get your own Vivint home security system today!

A Community Response

Spectrum Alert is more than a new line item in Florida law, it’s a recognition of the unique risks our autistic children face and a commitment to meet those risks with urgency, training, and community reach. With quick, coordinated alerts and prevention efforts that start at home and extend across neighborhoods, schools, and agencies, we can save lives.

For families navigating autism, there is real reassurance in knowing that neighbors, law enforcement, media, and strangers alike will mobilize the moment a child is reported missing. And for all Floridians, Spectrum Alert is a reminder that we can meet tragedy with action and answer loss with hope.