Jun-2015
Autism and Wandering: How ABA can Help Keep Kids Safe
In October 2013, a 14-year-old boy by the name of Avonte Oquendo wandered away from his class and out of his school. The security cameras outside of his school captured him darting across the street until he was no longer visible. This is the last footage ever seen of him alive. After he had been missing for months, his mom was contacted by the police, who let her know that they had found his remains. This is a parents’ worst nightmare.
There are hundreds of cases of children with autism going missing because they have wandered or bolted in the media. In a study published in the Journal of Paediatrics in 2012, it was found that 49% of children with autism have wandered from a safe situation at least one time.
Read the full piece in The Huffington Post by Sarah Kupferschmidt of Special Appucations here!