Police seek help, again, finding East Boston teen who often wanders off

If this kid has some functional skills, which it sounds like he does, he probably isn't eligible for any in-home care, even though he clearly has more needs than your average teen.

He may well have a single parent who is then required to watch this kid 24/7. He's a full-sized guy, so you can't stick him in a playpen for 15 minutes while you take a shower. And you can't put him in handcuffs while you're sleeping.

He also might be a person who bolts when frustrated. He could have taken off while outside or could have run out of the house. Folks with an autism spectrum diagnosis have brains that are wired differently, and some folks can go into the sort of extreme adrenaline rush we do when there's an emergency, except their brain will do it over not having any more red popsicles and only having green ones. If you've ever seen this happen, there's no way any of us could catch or restrain someone who's in this mode.

His family may well even want to have him go into residential care, as many families choose to do when their child becomes large and difficult to handle. There aren't a lot of spots though, so most families aren't getting residential programs.

"this family is not doing their job" when that "job" is probably not doable and you know that, you are going to get some push back on "then maybe you should show them HOW to do it". Your "blah blah blah emotional appeal" statement does not negate the value of the argument that 1)you think something should be done differently when 2)you don't seem to have much experience with caregiving.

Asking you to demonstrate how the job of those you have judged unfit is possible is a simple way to call you out on your simplistic and ill-informed reaction.

Kaz, I love you man, but really. The items you're pointing out are alarms that beep if someone leaves a certain area or gets out of their seat. We used them with some folks when I worked in a rehab.

A chair that beeps to let you know that Little Timmy has broken the front door lock and is down the block does nothing in the case of most folks with autism who tend to run, since people on the autism spectrum can run faster than most other people when riled up and determined, and are stronger than most other people when they get this way. Think really really agitated and really really full of adrenaline.

This is why you often see people with autism being restrained by four or five people or held down by several people and given a sedative. Not pleasant, but sometimes necessary to keep people safe.