Runaway Spent 11 Days in the Subways

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/nyreg ... way&st=cse

Fransisco got into trouble in school, was afraid of punishment at home, so hi hid in the subway for 11 days. Everyone was worried about him.

They mentioned he has Asperger's syndrome. That did take skill to hang out there a week and a half, survive and not be detected.

Not really, the NYC subway system has shops to purchase food, rest rooms to relieve yourself, and a place to sit/sleep. The only thing that resulted in this kid being found is that he did not switch his routine. In fact, the route this kid took seems to be a very convoluted route and not one I would try. All you need is one card swipe to get you into the system.

As far as passengers noticing, very few people ride at night and during the day, most people see a 13 year old with a backpack and figure he is going to some sort of school or program. Notice that he was found easily once the police decided to listen to the parents for a change, take that he had AS into account, and concentrate on the subway system.

As far as hiding in the subway, ask Darius McCollum how easy it is to enter and remain on the subway in NYC.

wow what an experience that must have been.

This is a heartbreaking story and clearly the kid is very troubled. This quote really says it all:

When Aspies want to be invisible, we do a very good job of it. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy: "See, I was right, people don't care about me." The irony is that what he needed was to feel cared for by his family or anyone, and deep down he probably knew it. I do know where he's coming from and the disconnect he must feel - having people who want to help him but who don't know how to meet his needs.

What can be done to prevent incidents like this?

All I can think is thank god he's ok.

agreed.

I can't imagine being away from home for that long. I couldn't even last a day away from home. I wanted to be where all my stuff is.

Seems to me that the parents are the problem, not the AS.

Quite agree with you.
It seems his parents didn't tell him how make friends and gave him enough caring.

When I was a little girl. I had no friends.
My mom always worried about that.
So she always told me to bring friends home.
She told me to ask my classmates home by telling them my mom made delicious food, you must come to my house and have some.
So I got someone like the food to go home with me.
Actually, almost all the kids like good food.

That seems a little harsh. The mother obviously loves him. Parents don't get training on how to raise children, and aspie kids can be an even greater challenge. I would say the whole situation was very sad... the mother obviously needs more support, the son obviously needs a lot more input from the school. It's hard enough to be poor, and for your home language to be different from society's. Throw aspie into the mix, and it's a recipe for misery.

This made me sad... I could imagine my son doing something similar, to be honest. Sometimes he takes things to heart, and imagines a terrible criticism which wasn't there... for example, if I ask him to wash his hands, he might think I'm saying he's filthy. Knowing how hypersensitive he is, and how unable to express it, I could well see him, in another life circumstance, fleeing, as this poor boy did.

All I can say is, thank God he's back home.

I think it is a little harsh to be blaming the parents too (in another new report that allowed comments, someone suggested that CPS visit the family). First off, the school does not seem very supportive according to the article. The school figures he is doing OK on the tests which is all that counts these days, especially in a working class neighborhood in NYC. The mother probably is having trouble explaining to social services that this boy needs help too.

Finally, I think the police did respond according to protocol. I would however suggest that the field detectives get some training in AS. If they had that training, I would think they would have scoured the subway much earlier. I think once the case got transferred to Missing Persons, the detective there had some training in AS and as such, took the family seriously.

This was indeed sad and I am glad the kid was found ok. The mother is right in thinking that this can happen again however in the absence of any outside assistance.

I'm glad he's safe (and hopefully not in too much trouble--real or imagined).

But I can't help thinking that he might just have had a fun 11 days--I've often thought about just getting in my car and driving, driving, driving when things start getting to be too much for me to handle. Living day-to-day, with no real concern for the past, present, or future.

Alas, I'm old enough to know that tomorrow will come, and I'll be expected to deal with the aftermath. But it's still fun to think about it, and I still admire those who've managed to do such, even if only once in their lifetimes.