Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Missing with Autism ... I
Nothing has been more frightening to us than discovering our daughter missing from our house. This has happened three times in the last 2 years - and no times in the last six months (knock on wood).
The first time happened at a relative's birthday party. It was an evening party and we were sitting by the front door watching her ascend and decend the stairs right in front of our eyes. Other parents started arriving to pick up their children. There were lots of waves and goodbyes. About 5 minutes after we last noticed her, she was gone. A search of the house and under everything yielded no trace. We frantically started searching the neighborhood. After about 10 minutes (seems like an hour) we called 911 and reported her missing. We described her to the police as a 6 year old girl, barefoot, wearing a purple sparkle dress, and carrying a magic wand. At the same time we were leaving the description, a family in a house about 100 yards from the party called 911 and reported her found. The details matched except they reported her as being "about 10". They had heard her come up on to their porch and sit down on the swing outside their door. They opened the door, were a little surprised, and asked if she'd like to come inside and have some cookies and milk. She did. They asked for her phone number and she recited it perfectly - the years of ABA and generalization training really paid off. Unfortunately, we were not at home, so they left a message on our machine.
After the police figured out that they had the right kid, they put us together. She got lots of hugs from a relieved family. We vowed never to let it happen again, but our daughter, though autistic, is a clever little girl and she had been given cookies, milk, and hugs the last time she escaped, so why not try again after the fuss was over ...
The first time happened at a relative's birthday party. It was an evening party and we were sitting by the front door watching her ascend and decend the stairs right in front of our eyes. Other parents started arriving to pick up their children. There were lots of waves and goodbyes. About 5 minutes after we last noticed her, she was gone. A search of the house and under everything yielded no trace. We frantically started searching the neighborhood. After about 10 minutes (seems like an hour) we called 911 and reported her missing. We described her to the police as a 6 year old girl, barefoot, wearing a purple sparkle dress, and carrying a magic wand. At the same time we were leaving the description, a family in a house about 100 yards from the party called 911 and reported her found. The details matched except they reported her as being "about 10". They had heard her come up on to their porch and sit down on the swing outside their door. They opened the door, were a little surprised, and asked if she'd like to come inside and have some cookies and milk. She did. They asked for her phone number and she recited it perfectly - the years of ABA and generalization training really paid off. Unfortunately, we were not at home, so they left a message on our machine.
After the police figured out that they had the right kid, they put us together. She got lots of hugs from a relieved family. We vowed never to let it happen again, but our daughter, though autistic, is a clever little girl and she had been given cookies, milk, and hugs the last time she escaped, so why not try again after the fuss was over ...
# posted by Creatively Ironic @ 8:35 PM 
