Every day, Autistic children go missing. They wander from daycares,  schools, and homes. It is called eloping and it is incredibly dangerous, not to mention terrifying to their families and friends. Autism is a spectrum, which means that no 2 autistics are the same, but there are behaviours and struggles the are very common. They may not feel pain or heat or cold. They may not comprehend the dangers of certain situations. They are often drawn to water, so lakes, ponds, and rivers are high risk. When an autistic child goes missing they should absolutely be considered in imminent danger.

Currently the criteria for an amber alert states that the child must have been abducted and be at risk of harm. I would like to propose that the criteria be changed to include all missing children in imminent danger with a special emphasis put on autistic and intellectually disabled children. If the Amber alert system cannot be modified, than a new system should be set up to alert the public of any missing child, with added details for autistic and intellectually disabled children. Knowing things like that they are drawn to water or like bubbles or are sensitive to loud noises is imperative to finding them safe and alive.

Alerts should be about working together to see a child home safe. Let's work as a community to create a new system that protects our most vulnerable.

We ask that the Ontario Government and the Ontario Provincial Police improve the alert system to save lives.