David Vasquez Update: Missing teen with autism found safe

Update: Missing teen with autism found safe | fox13now.com: "OREM, Utah – A teenage boy with autism who disappeared Tuesday night in Orem has been found safe.

Officials said 14-year-old David Vasquez had been last seen Tuesday at 8 p.m. at an LDS Church near 1100 S. and 200 E.

“I’m very grateful to God and thankful to everyone. Everyone, thank you for helping me,” David’s mother, Adrianna Segura, said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Segura was in the process of posting missing fliers of her son all over Orem when she received the call that her son had been found wandering around University Mall.

“This is the greatest moment of my life, getting my son back, thank you so much,” Segura said."



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Missing Guelph teen found after six hours | CTV Kitchener News

Missing Guelph teen found after six hours | CTV Kitchener News: "A missing Guelph teenager was found by police Wednesday afternoon, about six hours after he went missing.
Jacob Subang, an 18-year-old who suffers from autism and epilepsy, disappeared around 7:30 a.m.
Police say he was found shortly before 1:30 p.m. at an apartment complex on Westwood Road, in good health."



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Body found in water during search for Leo Walker

Body found in water during search for Leo Walker: "LIVE OAK, Fla. -- Live Oak Police say they found a body in a pond near the area where volunteers and law enforcement are searching for missing 9-year-old Leo Walker.

Police Chief Buddy Williams could not confirm whether the body they found was Walker's. Police are expected to give another update on the search at 3 p.m. Friday.

Hundreds of volunteers came out to help search for the missing autistic boy. Thursday evening Williams said crews started pumping a nearby pond as part of search efforts. Friday, Williams said that's where they found the body."



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Florida Missing Child alert issued for 9-year-old autistic boy | www.actionnewsjax.com

Florida Missing Child alert issued for 9-year-old autistic boy | www.actionnewsjax.com: "LIVE OAK, Fla. — A Florida Missing Child Alert is issued for a 9-year-old autistic boy who was reported missing early Wednesday morning. 
The Live Oak Police Department begun the search for Leo Walker, who was last seen at his parents' home on Duval Street around 4 a.m. He is described as 4 feet 7 inches tall. 
Walker was last seen wearing blue shorts and T-shirt, and did not have shoes. Officers do not know if Walker is in need of any special medication or the severity of his autism.
This is an ongoing investigation.  Anyone who has seen Walker is asked to call Live Oak Police Department at 386-330-3501 or 911. "



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Rest in Peace: Avonte Oquendo

The Tragic Death Of Avonte Oquendo: How A School Lost A Vulnerable, Autistic Teenager - seattlepi.com

News broke Tuesday that human remains from the East River belong to an autistic 14-year-old who had been missing since October — and who vanished when his teachers should have been watching him. 

Avonte Oquendo slipped away from school after lunch on Oct. 4, even though he had a reputation for wandering away during transitions and anindividualized education plan that noted this tendency, his family's lawyer David Perecmanpreviously told Business Insider. 

There is still a lot we don't know about what happened to Oquendo after he was lost and how he ultimately died. There are no obvious signs of foul play, the New York Post reported. We do know the teen, who could not speak, was afraid of the water, and that his parents don't know how he ended up in the river, Perecman told NBC News. The Post also noted his remains were found with Fruit of the Loom underwear that was too large for Oquendo, leading his family's lawyer to speculate that somebody may have had the boy for a few days.

“Lost in Public” Video Helps Parents Keep Their Children Safe

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 19, 2013

For more information, contact:

Daphne Plump

Phone: (661) 478-6512

“Lost in Public” Video Helps Parents Keep Their Children Safe

 A newly-launched “Lost in Public” video, produced by the Autism Research Group, demonstrates how to use rules, role playing, and praise to teach children what to do if they get lost. 
LOS ANGELES (Nov. 21, 2013) – The Autism Research Group (ARG)  this week launched “Lost in Public,” a five-minute video that instructs children and guardians how to use rules, role playing, and praise to teach children what to do if they become lost in a public setting.

 ARG is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using science to help individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). “We study ways to improve the lives of children with autism. One way is by teaching them safety skills, such as what to do when they get lost. We also study the art of teaching – what works, what doesn’t,” says ARG Associate Scientist Ryan Bergstrom, M.A., BCBA.  

”Lost in Public” was filmed on the streets of Los Angeles with Bergstrom as the interviewer and instructor. Bergstrom asks random people what they would teach children to do if they got lost and how they would teach it. The unscripted responses are humorous anecdotes. However, Bergstrom says the video and its lesson are, by no means, a laughing matter.

 According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children^®, the first three hours are the most critical when trying to locate a missing child. The most recent study conducted by U.S. Department of Justice, National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview (2002) estimates that approximately 800,000 children younger than 18 were reported.

“Lost in Public” video provides an alternative to the commonly-used method of establishing a meeting spot, as a child who is lost and nervous might not be able to find the meeting spot. Instead, it teaches children to do 3 things if they can’t find their parent:

1. Yell “Mom!” or “Dad!”

2.  If that doesn’t work, find a store employee. (If a child can’t find an employee, you might tell him or her to look for a mom with kids.) 

3.  Inform the employee that you’re lost.  

Once the child has mastered the rules, families should practice with their child in real-world situations by role playing that they are lost. When the child is successful during the role playing, Bergstrom says it is important to reinforce correct responding with praise or a reward which “seals the deal.”

In 2012, ARG published a study in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis that evaluated how rules, role playing, and praise were effective in establishing help-seeking behaviors in children with autism.  “This video was created not just for families of children with autism but as a tool for all families to use in order to prevent an unfortunate and terrifying incident from occurring,” says Bergstrom.

“Lost in Public” can be viewed online at www.autismresearchgroup.org.

About Autism Research Group
Autism Research Group (ARG) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying, evaluating, and disseminating treatments that make a real, measurable difference in the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. ARG uses science to improve quality of life for people with autism spectrum disorders and the families who love them. For more information about Autism Research Group, visit: www.autismresearchgroup.org.

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Missing with Autism: Avonte Oquendo Update (2 Weeks)

Search for Missing Teen Avonte Oquendo Hits 2-Week Mark | NBC New York

Fourteen-year-old Avonte Oquendo remains missing two weeks after he skipped away from his Long Island City school, despite an intense search that utilized everything from volunteer posters to infrared cameras and loudspeakers blasting his mother's voice to find him. 

Police said Friday morning that there have been no new developments in the search for the boy, who is autistic and cannot speak for himself. They released a new photo of the striped polo shirt he was wearing when he was last seen leaving school Oct 4.