The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with other federal agencies, has announced that it is developing a national autism elopement alert system for missing children and adults with autism. The goal of the project is to strengthen response coordination among emergency personnel, first responders and community partners as a means to help with the problem of “elopement” or when students wander away from schools.
To address the problem of elopement, schools can work with parents to document the possibility in a student’s individualized education program, report any such incidents, and use prevention measures such as putting out-of-reach locks on doors, according to research and advocacy groups.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some children with disabilities, such as those with autism or intellectual disabilities, may have challenges understanding safety issues and communicating with others and elopement typically includes situations where wandering away from care may result in injury or harm and differs from brief moments when a child may run away from a caregiver. According to the National Autism Safety Council, there have been 52 autism-related elopement fatalities of children ages 5-17 so far this year and about 53% of autism-related elopement fatalities in 2025 involved children ages 5-9. Five of those fatalities occurred in school settings.
According to a 2012 study published in Pediatrics, about half of all children with autism attempted to “elope” or wander away from a caregiver at least once after age 4.
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