"Go to Disney. Go to Disney. Go to Disney." Ethan Bunkelmann is a 6-year-old Houdini who will bolt his North Palm Beach home on any number of whims. "Go to Target. Go to Target. Go to Target."
He will unbolt locks and prop up chairs to reach the highest door chain. He will ignore door alarms and slip a parent's watchful eye. He will not respond to people searching for him. He may even try to hurt himself or a potential "rescuer" if stopped.
Ethan Bunkelmann is an autistic boy with a history of wandering. And some of the biggest national organizations that advocate for and promote research of autism, a complex neurobiological disorder, are making a push for "Autism with a history of wandering" to become its own medical diagnosis.
As National Autism Awareness Month begins, they hope a few numbers and letters in the bible of medicine will bring attention to the problem and make solutions, such as electronic tracking devices, more affordable for the families.
Perhaps it will even curb the stunning death toll wandering wreaks among children already diagnosed as autistic.
They point to what they already know: The death rate among the autism population is higher than the general population -- perhaps twice as high, according to a Danish study in 2008. And much of that elevated death rate can be attributed to the wanderers drowning in ponds, lakes and neighbors' pools .
Read more at: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-hk-autistic-wanderers-040111,0,7166600.story
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