Spurred by tragedy that struck the Yakima community in 2022, the occupational therapy team at MultiCare Children\u2019s Village launched an enhanced wandering elopement protocol to help families prevent the situation from happening to them.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 10, 2022, 4-year-old Lucian was reported missing after wandering from the play area of a local park. Authorities from across the state and more than 100 community volunteers spent weeks searching for the boy. In December, his remains were found in the Yakima River, and his death was ruled an accidental drowning.<\/p>\n
This was unfortunately not the first time he had wandered away. Lucian, who had received a diagnosis of autism years prior, had received therapy services at Children\u2019s Village. His experience is not uncommon for kids on the autism spectrum. Between 2011 and 2020, there were 1,986 reports of children on the autism spectrum going missing, according to the FBI. Fourteen percent of those had gone missing more than once.<\/p>\n
Hearing about his death, the team at Children\u2019s Village brainstormed how they could make a change. The first step was awareness.<\/p>\n
During initial intake to Children\u2019s Village, all families are now asked screening questions regarding their child\u2019s risk for elopement, such as whether they\u2019re concerned about the possibility or if the child has wandered before. If they answer yes to either, parents are provided with education about how to assess the risk, potential factors or triggers that may spark the desire to wander, and prevention methods.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy nature of their wanting to seek sensory input, (children on the autism spectrum) want to move their bodies,\u201d explains Mackenzie Franke, occupational therapist and clinical supervisor at Children\u2019s Village. \u201cMany don\u2019t have a high level of verbal language skills, so they may not respond when their name is called. They don\u2019t take those instructions in the same way others might.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had families say, \u2018I can finally feel like I can take them to the park.\u2019 They get back a little bit of what they envisioned for their family.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Providers dig into the details about when these events occur, Franke explains. Was it loud, such as at a grocery store, and they were trying to escape the noise? Did they see something they wanted to get closer to, such as a fire truck? Or are they having trouble sleeping and want to get out of their room?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can make goals for our therapy appointments about working through how to react, being safe in the community and addressing the specific why,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
In addition to providing education, the new protocols help lower the risk of elopement by equipping the most at-risk children with GPS tracking devices. Since implementation, the program has provided more than 215 trackers to families, free of cost. The devices clip to a child\u2019s clothing or backpack and can be tracked through their caregiver\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want families to keep children safe and near them, but we also know the reality that some kids are at a risk for running off, and we just need to know which direction,\u201d Franke explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a safety net.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franke says they also try to remind parents that the risk for elopement doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re a bad parent. Awareness is the most important thing for themselves and the caregivers they rely on.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour child just may be a runner,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve had families say, \u2018I can finally feel like I can take them to the park.\u2019 They get back a little bit of what they envisioned for their family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing how it eases anxiety for families, the protocols and education have spread to other surrounding clinics and community services, Franke says. Children\u2019s Village staff are now working with organizations such as local search and rescue teams to provide education about what to look for, and how to help prevent such incidents in their own line of work.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spurred by tragedy that struck the Yakima community in 2022, the occupational therapy team at MultiCare Children\u2019s Village launched an enhanced wandering elopement protocol to help families prevent the situation from happening to them. On Sept. 10, 2022, 4-year-old Lucian was reported missing after wandering from the play area of a local park. Authorities from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-kids-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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