special needs.
police, FBI officials, Ryan’s family and his entire community are still searching for Ryan, praying he’s alive somewhere. Ryan’s case is extreme—however, elopement is a serious and dangerous issue for many families. FAST AND NO FEAR
DISAPPEARING ACT How to deal with elopement in your child with special needs
ISTOCK
WORDS KELLY WOOLEY
W
HEN TAMMI LARSEN SAW HER 11-YEAROLD SON RYAN OFF TO
SCHOOL on May 17, 2021, she never imagined it could be the last
time she ever saw him. Elopement, or wandering off without permission, was a common behavior for Ryan, who is on the autism spectrum. The Nebraska boy was usually gone for a few hours and then would
either come home or be found in one of his “hiding” places. But May 17 was different. That day, Ryan walked out of his elementary school during a passing period, never to be seen again. More than a year later,
Elopement can happen very quickly and even when your child is under constant supervision. That’s something Burleson mom Faten Awde knows all too well. Awde’s daughter Maya, now 10, was officially diagnosed with autism and a mixed receptiveexpressive language disorder at age 3. But Awde knew something was off much earlier, when Maya began walking and running at just 10 months old. Maya’s behaviors were so much different than her older sister’s were at the same age. “Maya was fast and had no fear,” explains Awde. “She couldn’t sit still and quickly learned to be an escape artist. She had to be in a stroller anytime we were in public because if there was any kind of open space, she would just run and run.” For Maya, eloping was a form of play. And like most children, she had no awareness of how dangerous it could be. While Maya’s wandering was never as serious as Ryan’s, Awde will never forget the time in 2017 she thought she’d lost Maya for good. “We had just gotten home from therapy,” shares Awde. “Typically, I would unstrap Maya and carry her inside to keep her from escaping. But I was pregnant with Maya’s younger sister and too far along to carry Maya.” Before Awde could stop her, Maya took off, running as fast as she could across their 10-acre property. Awde ran after her but couldn’t keep up. Maya reached the edge of their land and kept on going. “She was running through really tall grass and even managed to get through a barbed wire fence,” says Awde. “I made it to the fence, but my shorts got stuck. As I was working to rip them away, I completely lost sight of her.”
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