Harris County Pct. 1 uses new training when 3-year-old with autism found wandering on road
Harris County: Woman arrested after 3-year-old with autism found wandering
A woman is charged after a toddler with autism was found wandering down a median in north Houston. This is the second incident of a child with autism wandering off in Houston this week.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Sade Stewart was arrested and charged on Wednesday after her 3-year-old nephew was found wandering in the dark on a median in North Houston, according to Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen.
Details of the Incident in North Houston
What we know:
"When we got there, the child was a non-verbal autistic child, so communicating wasn't an option," he said.
He says the child's mother called in saying she couldn't locate the child, and she had left him in the care of Stewart.
"We presented the case to the DA's office, who accepted charges of endangerment to a child, and it's appropriate. This child could have been killed out there," said Rosen.
Houston woman arrested after 3-year-old special needs nephew found wandering along roadway
A Houston woman has been charged with child endangerment after her 3-year-old nephew, who is non-verbal and autistic, was found wandering barefoot along a roadway median just after 5 a. m. Wednesday.
Local perspective:
This comes just days after an 8-year-old girl with autism wandered off in Cypress and drowned in a nearby pond.
"From what we understand and what we have learned in the past is that children with autism have an attraction to water and more than likely these children don't know how to swim and if they do get out of the house they can drown pretty quickly," said Lt. Michael Richie on scene.
Safety Measures for Children with Autism: Preventing Future Incidents
Big picture view:
Advocate and public figure Sheletta Brundidge says this is true and parents of children with autism need to be aware.
"Lock down the house and educate babysitters, aunties and grandmas. "We have interior combination door locks that we put on every door leading to the outside of the home," she said.
She says she will be giving special combination locks away for free next Thursday. Information on this can be found here.
Alan Rosen says his deputies are trained for situations like the one that happened Wednesday, saying that in the past few months his office has rolled out specialized training on how to respond when a call involves a child with autism.
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"It's a very brand-new kind of push for training for that, and I'm proud to say we're one of the first agencies to do that locally," he said.
The training comes with kits that the officers carry that are full of different tools that can be used when a child has certain sensory needs.
Rosen said the training is already relevant, and he wants to continue to expand.
"In fact, I'm pushing to get a bill passed so it's required training for all law enforcement in Texas," he said.
The Source: Information in this article is from Precinct 1 Constable's office, Sheletta Bundbrudge, and the CDC.