A first-ever initiative will establish a specialized national alert system and bring together three different federal agencies to beef up the response if individuals with autism go missing.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said late last week that it is launching a National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative.
HHS will work with the Department of Justice and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to enhance coordination of emergency management agencies, law enforcement, first responders, and community partners nationwide to “improve preparedness and response when autistic individuals are reported missing,” officials said.
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“Our goal is an autism specific alert capability that gets critical information to authorities and the public quickly and helps bring missing persons home safely,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “We also will advance the autism specific response protocols, improve first responder education, promote evidence-based informed search practices, and strengthen state and local implementation and improve data collection.”
The government will build on its existing missing and endangered person alert capabilities, like the Amber Alert, to establish the autism notification, Kennedy said.
In addition, the Trump administration plans to create a national framework of best practices to address the leading causes of preventable injury and death among those with autism, including accidental drowning as a result of wandering.
Research shows that about half of children with autism are prone to wandering or eloping from a safe place and many are attracted to water. According to the National Autism Association, children with autism are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as their peers.
Kennedy said that the nationwide autism specific alert is not yet active, but federal, state and local partners are working to develop it.
Diana Diaz Harrison, national autism coordinator at HHS, said the initiative came in response to a call from HHS’ Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee to improve autism specific response protocols.
“To the autism community nationwide, we see you,” she said. “Your children and loved ones are the most precious beautiful things. They deserve communities prepared that when the unthinkable happens, there is a plan to bring their loved one home.”
David Sitcovsky, vice president of advocacy at Autism Speaks, welcomed added attention to wandering, noting that his group has spent years advocating for policies and resources to prevent elopement and help first responders locate individuals who go missing.
“A more consistent national framework for autism-informed emergency response has the potential to build on that work and address gaps that vary significantly from state to state,” Sitcovsky said. “As HHS, DOJ and FEMA develop the guidance and implementation details, it will be important to ensure that first responders have appropriate training, families and the autism community are meaningfully engaged, and states have the resources they need to put effective practices into place.”
