Additional resources
If you are looking for more information about autism and wandering, check out these resources.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is dedicated to raising awareness of wandering in the autism community.
- Missing Children with Autism - An in-depth overview of the issue of autism and wandering.
- Guide For First Responders - Download our informative guide for law enforcement.
- Lost Person Questionnaire - Download our lost person questionnaire for first responders.
- Checklist For Law Enforcement - Download our checklist for law enforcement responding to missing children with special needs.
The AWAARE Collaboration has a mission to prevent autism-related wandering incidents and deaths.
- Frequently Asked Questions - Answers to some of the most common questions regarding wandering in the autism community.
- Big Red Safety Toolkit - Download tools and resources for caregivers of someone with an autism spectrum disorder who is prone to wandering.
We also need to create PSAs wtih advice for how to help adults with autism who wander. Several young adults have gone missing in the LA area recently and it's been difficult to get help from local media and police. Some police wrongly assume the "adult" "wanted" to go away. If a lost young adult with autism is seen on the street, most people just avoid him (as happened with a friend's son who went missing for 21 days). I appreciate this PSA for our children, but there is also an urgent need for the same concern to be shown for young adults. If 18 or older, it is much harder to get community/media support based on the incorrect belief that if they're that old, they "know" what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! The state is looking to convene a summit on this very topic to discuss solutions. I will forward your recommendation!!
ReplyDelete