KFYR-TV News Stories - Wandering Persons Alert
Published on Oct 12, 2007
KFYR-TV News Stories, North Dakota's NBC News Leader, reports: Wandering Persons Alert
| October 11, 2007 |
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Parents have a lot to worry about. If their child has a developmental disability, like autism, there is a whole new set of worries. For example, what if a child gets lost, and can`t tell anyone who he or she is? When it comes to children with autism, or adults with Alzheimers, they might not be able to say or remember their name. That`s why some say are petitioning for a national alert if their developmentally disabled loved ones wander off. From the outside, Dalton might look like any other three year old. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine and playing outside. But Dalton was recently diagnosed as autistic, and that affects every part of his life. "What Dalton has is PDD, or pervasive developmental delay. He has problems with his speech, he has problems with contact with other people," says his mom, Jessica Fleckenstein. He`s also curious. "I`ve had him wander off in stores and most of the time when you call his name, he does not respond," she says. Not only might an autistic child not be able to tell someone their name, they might try to hide from the people who are trying to find them. That`s a worry shared by many parents of autistic children. And that`s why one woman started an online petition for a national alert system for wandering persons. "If we got that alert, if Dalton went off and he wandered and we could not find him in a length of time, his picture would go on TV," Fleckenstein says. Police say if they know a missing child is autistic, it makes them easier to identify. "If a child is found and they seem to match the description but on the other hand, they`re answering questions appropriately that`s inconsistent with the information we have about the person with autism or something like that, then it`s probably not the right person we`re looking for and we will continue to search until we find them," says Sgt. Dwight Offerman with the Bismarck Police Department. They say it`s harder when they find an autistic child who hasn`t been reported missing yet. You can find the online petition by searching for "wandering persons alert" at www.gopetition.com. |