Missing autistic boy returns after 25 km ‘independence’ walk

HYDERABAD: Two days after B Aravind, a 14-year-old autistic boy, went missing from his residence in Miyapur, he was traced in Sangareddy, about 30 km from his home on January 7. The big take away for the family from the incident was that the teenager managed well on his own, indicating his ability of leading an independent life.

It was at 6 pm on January 5 that Aravind ran out of his house to have food from a nearby eatery. As he could not find his way back home, he walked all the way from Patancheru to Sangareddy —about 25 km. He was spotted by an NGO that provided him shelter and informed the local police who reached out to his parents.

“He was out there for two days on his own: he ate food, had proper sleep and was alright. It is a big take away from this lesson,” said Aravind’s mother.

“We should have taken utmost care, but our teaching to make the child live independently is working out,” she said.

Therapists say it’s common for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to go missing, and stress on the need for extra care. “More than any therapy, there needs to be a constant guidance to monitor the child,” says I Madhuri, Director Varun Autism Reach Society.

However, Aravind’s father is concerned that untrained care-givers, if hired for support, can compromise the child’s safety. “Unlike in the case care providers for hearing, speech and intellectually disabled people, those attending to persons with ADHD have very little training or experience,” says Aravind’s father B Raghuram. “Instead of feeling embarrassed or concerned about taking them out to public places, one needs to realise that it’s only through integration that they can be made to feel socially included,” he adds. Snehalatha Deshpande, Principal of Special Care School has a valuable advise: “autistic children should have the child’s name and contact information inked on any part of their body.”