Autism: the problem of wandering
When I read about the tragic case of Erik Lippmann, the 30 year old man with autism who wandered away from home near Santa Cruz and was found dead on a Monterey county beach a week later, I was reminded of all of the times Matthew wandered away, and I feared the worst.The first time was when was 4 years old, and I had taken him and his younger brother, Andy to the Orinda Park. Matthew had not been formally diagnosed, but I had an inkling that he might have autism or something like it, and I'd been busy driving him from therapist to therapist, trying to "nip whatever his developmental problem was in the bud."
One of my biggest concerns at the time was that Matthew had stopped talking, except for echoing what was said to him. It was was echolalia, I was told, and a sign of something serious.
That day at the Orinda Park, Matthew and Andy were on the swing side by side. Andy had begun to fuss, so I decided it was time to go home. I lifted Matthew off of the swing, then Andy, then turned to take Matthew's hand, but and he was gone.
"Matthew?"
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/lshumaker/detail??blogid=171&entry_id=63145#ixzz0nMjyDaei
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