Today I'm writing a post again on an uncomfortable topic. I am worried. A 12 year old boy has been wanted in my country for 5 days now. The town he got lost in is near our capital, but it is a relatively small town.
You would probably say that children are wanted all the time, but this child is a little different. He has autism. They explained on the news that even if someone found him and wanted to help him by taking him to a police station, the chance of that was very slim. People suffering from such a disease had a hard time trusting anyone. They didn't turn around when you called them by name and they certainly wouldn't leave with a stranger.
I'm scared because it's not just me anymore and the nights are cold. Probably hungry, alone, confused and scared. He got lost while he was with his father. The police, the gendarmerie and many volunteers are searching for the child in and around the town he is from.
There is information about the event in many places on the Internet and I heard this information on television.
I am worried about this child, he is small, scared and alone somewhere out there. His relatives said that in 24 hours he can travel a distance of over 20 km.
After all this information being shown on the news and social media I got to thinking. How can I know such a child, not the specific one, but one with autism. If I have to communicate with such a child what can I or can't I do.
I know from the movies that they are easily frightened, they are extremely smart, and they have specific movements they make.
I dug around on the internet to check things out.
The signs of autism usually show up between the ages of 2-3. Some related developmental disorders can appear earlier and patients can be diagnosed before the second year. A number of studies have shown that early intervention can lead to positive life outcomes for people with autism later in life Source.
I shudder...
The most common markers of autism at any age are :
Impaired social relationships. This includes the inability to manage social contact, through smiling, facial expressions or eye contact. Patients usually have no interest in their peers and making friendships with them. They do not show emotional reactions and do not share interests or feelings with others.
Impaired language and speech. Speech in most cases is unintelligible to others or completely absent. There is a lack of compensatory speech using facial expressions, gestures or imitation.
Repetitive unusual actions. People with autism tend to perform stereotyped, unusual repetitive actions, such as rocking in a chair, wiggling fingers, jumping, and fixating on certain smells and touches Source.
There's so much I don't know about these people, and I'm convinced I've communicated with these adults because I've seen most of the symptoms.
We as parents need to spend more time with our children to understand them. If they are young like my son - ones who don't speak well yet have the need to hear speech. So they try and learn how to pronounce the words. As they get older they also need support, conversation and a friend. And what better friend than the mother or father of a child.
Children are our happiness, protect them! Love them!
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