Friday, February 22, 2008

Autism Reality - Two Autistic Men Go Missing in Chicago Area

The reality of autism is much more than heart warming feel good stories. The reality of autism is not a culture, or a life style choice, for many severely affected persons with autism and their families. The news is often filled with such stories of autistic persons, children and adults, who wander off, and get lost, unable to look out for their own safety and well being. Sometimes such stories have happy conclusions. Other times ... they do not. I have commented in the past of a terrifying personal experience when my son left our home while I was talking on the phone. In the Chicago area TWO autistic men wandered off, went missing, in the last week alone.

In Family searches for missing man abc7chicago reports on 21 year old Jamaris Collins, who has the mental capacity of a young child, who had not returned several days after telling his aunt he was going for a walk to a nearby store. In Autistic man missing in Lyons the Chicago Tribune reported on John Valle, a 21 year old autistic man, who had no money, did not know his way around the Chicago area, cannot read or write and does not speak very often, who wandered away from his apartment in a Chicago suburb.

Hopefully, John Valle and Jamaris Collins will be found, or turn up, safe and sound.

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