Personally, I’m thankful for my wonderful family, my health, my spouse, my caring co-workers, my two dogs and many many other things. I urge you to think about what you are thankful for and to let those people (and pets!) know how much you appreciate them.

As a company, we here at LoJack SafetyNet sincerely appreciate our close nit community. Our customers, followers and supporters have played a massive role in our growth and we truly appreciate and want to thank all of you.

It’s a great feeling for us when we hear about success stories like this and this, which proves our efforts to bring loved ones back home with our SafetyNet service really do work and we are in fact saving lives.

As the Thanksgiving holiday comes closer, here are some links that may be helpful to you:

Thanksgiving Travel Tips:
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2010/11/12/dont-turkey-follow-thanksgiving-travel-tips/

Thanksgiving Cooking and Safety Tips:
http://www.catalogs.com/info/kitchen/thanksgiving-cooking-tips.html

http://www.safetyathome.com/seasonal-safety/holiday-safety-articles/thanksgiving-cooking-tips-serving-up-a-side-of-safety/

Thanksgiving Events – Family and Black Friday:
http://www.fchornet.com/2.2211/a-beginners-guide-to-shopping-black-friday-1.2704947#.TsaEiGPfdWA

http://www.wafb.com/story/16074437/best-buys-worst-buys-on-black-friday-2011

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/guide/family-guide-to-thanksgiving-volunteering/

http://fatherhoodchannel.com/2010/10/29/thanksgiving-family-survival-guide-2010/

Thank you for reading and we look forward to a prosperous 2012 and beyond.

Stay safe!

Jason at LoJack SafetyNet

Details of the Rescue:
When school officials noticed the boy was missing, they immediately called 911. Boston Police Department dispatch notified its ground units, as well as the MBTA Transit Police Department. Police were alerted that the boy’s last known location was North Station and arrived with their SafetyNet tracking equipment. Approximately 20 minutes after arriving at North Station, officers with the MBTA Transit Police began picking up a signal emitting from the missing boy’s SafetyNet Bracelet. The signal was coming from Downtown Crossing and was strongest underground. Officers went underground into the subway, boarded a train and were able to locate the boy, who was heading southbound. Using techniques learned in the SafetyNet training sessions, the officers were able to effectively communicate with and approach the boy and ultimately safely remove him from the train. He was rescued unharmed and later brought back to his parent.

“We are proud of our transit police officers’ quick response to this emergency situation,” said Transit Police Deputy Chief Joseph O’Connor. “With the use of SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers, officers were able to reunite the lost child with his family within minutes.”

This is the first rescue of a client enrolled in the SafetyNet by LoJack service in the city of Boston.

The SafetyNet service is comprised of a SafetyNet Bracelet worn by a client that emits Radio Frequency signals, which can be tracked by local public safety officials via their SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers.

The SafetyNet service is currently available to residents in Boston, as well as many surrounding towns and counties. In an effort to provide valuable protection to individuals at risk of wandering, LoJack SafetyNet™, Inc. is currently providing 1,500 free SafetyNet devices — along with six months of service — now through September 30, 2011 October 15, 2011 to any interested caregivers living in SafetyNet’s coverage areas. For more information on SafetyNet by LoJack and the giveaway, please contact (877) 4-FINDTHEM (877-434-6384) or visit www.safetynetbylojack.com.

Children with autism around the country contributed “hand turkeys” made at school or home for this fun video from Rethink Autism. Enjoy and have a safe holiday.

YouTube – The First Thanksgiving.

via 10 Revolutionary iPad Apps to Help Autistic Children – GadgetsDNA.com

Here is a touching video featuring a wonderful mom and a wonderful son with Asperger’s. Do yourself a favor and watch it. And Happy (early) Mother’s Day!! (If you get to buy yourself or your mom a present, this StoryCorps book looks awesome.)

In Dave Isay’s new book, “MOM,” he collects the best pieces of mom-related stories from StoryCorps. Over six years, the organization put up booths where normal people could interview each other about anything they wanted. This one, just animated by StoryCorps, is a twelve-year-old autistic boy interviewing his mom about what it’s like to raise him.

via Mother’s Day: Autistic 12-Year-Old Interviews His Mom About What It’s Like To Raise Him (VIDEO).

A dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis can be tough on families and caregivers. Two experts recently partnered to literally re-write the manual for families and caregivers in central Virginia and help them offer a dementia patient the best possible quality of life.

Dr. Barbara Braddock, assistant professor in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, specializes in communication and cognitive disorders. Ellen Phipps, with the Alzheimer’s Association is a therapeutic recreation specialist, which uses leisure activities to improve health. They came together to write the connections manual.

Phipps said, “One of the main points is families need to re-learn how to interact with the person with dementia.”

It starts with figuring out what that person enjoyed doing before their dementia set in.

Phipps stated, “You have to discover what is important to one particular person then you have to understand what functional level they are at.”

Dr. Braddock said, “That’s an easy way to connect with someone especially using their old memory and their procedural memory, their how-to memory, in moving through the activity.”

By using the connections booklet, care givers like Beth Czaplinski of Rosewood Village Assisted Living, can find a way to reach patients in a simple way.

Czaplinski stated, “It keeps them active and they are not sitting in front of the TV just watching their lives go by on the screen.”

If you can choose an engaging activity that taps into the patient’s personality, the results are impressive.

Dr. Braddock said, “There is some research that engaging in meaningful activity will actually decrease apathy, disinterest and even behaviors like anger and aggression.”

The two authors say the book is unique because it lets caregivers tailor a fun activity to the dementia patient, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Contact the Western and Central Virginia chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association to get a copy of the connections book.

Via Rewriting the Book for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

via LoJack SafetyNet Launched As Solution for Tracking and Rescui… – Video.