Friday, January 17, 2014

Remains in East River, N.Y., may be those of missing autistic boy, Avonte Oquendo

Avonte I pray this is not you. 


I don't know what I am most, sad or scared for all of our children in this crazy world. You all know I've been going on about wandering and my concerns for weeks, praying for parents who have suffered through this tragedy and praying that no more families have to endure that kind of pain. This is a crisis for all of us and we have to make this world a better place for our kids. 

I know each of our passion to make this world a better place makes a difference. I am so grateful for a few people I recently met who listened to my fear for our kids and did something about it: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and their marketing guru Debbie Asrate. I met Debbie in DC a few months ago at the Congressional Black Caucus where I found myself going on and on about my concerns. Debbie - a virtual stranger to the world of autism - was so touched by the what it means for a child with autism to wander, she took action. Four weeks later I was asked to produce a PSA to help bring attention to the issue and what to do if you see a child wandering.  That's what I call a miracle! Something got done just because, one person opened her mouth and somebody else cared.  I know Avonte's story has touched a lot of people and increased awareness of the problem, but I've heard very little on the public stage about solutions.  Right now all I can think about is praying for Avonte's family and wondering how each one of us, just by being ourselves, can do something to make this a safer world for our kids.   

It's an amazing PSA and when it's complete I'm going to ask everyone for help to get as many eyes on it as possible. We can make a difference, we have to. 

News for missing autistic boy in new york



ABC ews
  1. New York Times ‎- 4 hours ago
    The New York Police Department investigating the discovery of ... in the search for her missing 14-year-old son, a boy with severe autismwho ...

1 comment:

  1. I'm so sorry that this young man's life ended in tragedy. I'm not sure what the answer is. Thank you for caring so much Donna, and for doing more than your share of heavy lifting on these issues.

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