The resources below provide law enforcement with guidance on preparing for and responding to incidents involving missing children with autism.    

Understanding Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Guide for First Responders provides law enforcement with information on missing children with autism, including characteristics and behaviors of children on the autism spectrum, strategies for building awareness through community partnerships, and tips on using technological solutions to locate children who have gone missing.  

Children on the Autism Spectrum: Search Protocols & Questionnaire for First Responders provides law enforcement with key information and guidance regarding searching for children with autism who have gone missing. Recommended questions for law enforcement to ask families and caregivers are included.

Tips for Caregivers Supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum is a customizable resource for law enforcement to share with their communities. It provides guidance for caregivers to prepare for and respond to wandering incidents.  

These resources were developed under IACP’s Home Safe Project, in collaboration with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and The Arc of the United States’ National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability, supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.  

These resources are supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 2019-NT-BX-K002 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.