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Sunday, April 2, 2017

Elopement "Fun" at the Color Run...

Let me tell you a story about elopement, and no, it’s not the romantic definition. 
First, one of the definitions of elope is “to slip away or escape.”  Elopement is quite common with people affected by autism.  Lulu is no exception.
I work for the Franziska Racker Centers, and we support individuals with developmental, mental and intellectual disabilities.  My Lulu benefits from the supports that she receives from this agency.  It’s a fantastic place to work, and generally speaking, everyone is wonderful there, from the folks we support to the staff members who work there.  I really couldn’t ask for a better place to work.
At Racker, there is always a big emphasis on working together as a team, whether it’s a departmental team or an agency-wide team.  Today was the Color Run, and I began working on forming this year’s work-sponsored team back in January.  We did this last year with a team of 34 people.  This year our team was up to 90, which is simply inspiring to me. 
I was torn as to whether or not Lulu should participate in this event. There were just so many people there, and it was pretty likely that she would get overstimulated.  But then there's the argument that she should be included in events like these because it's her right and she deserves to have a good time just like everyone else.  I even talked to her behavioral therapist about it.  After talking with some of my co-workers, they all agreed - there are 80+ people who will be there to help, who want to help and who "get it."  So Lulu had a crazy outfit on just like the rest of us, and she even picked it out herself!!
I loved seeing everyone today – staff, the people we support, and family members all participated in this event.  Everyone encouraged each other, and there were lots of laughs and hugs.  Lulu made it the entire way, and though she wasn’t a fan of the slight hills, she seemed to like to get color on her.
Fast forward to the end of the event, and Lulu is just….done. John had her by the hand one minute with me standing right next to her.  He opened a packet of color and took a few steps away.  I turned to watch, then realized that Lulu wasn’t with him.  She had taken off that quickly…and there was a sea of white t-shirts as far as the eye could see.
I tried to remain calm, yelling to John that Lulu was missing.  One by one, my co-workers realized what was happening, and they all began to disperse in different directions.  Because of where we work, they all knew the potential severity of the situation…they all knew that Lulu was non-verbal, and would not come when her name was called.  Some knew that she was drawn to bubbles, water, music and bounce houses.  They were on top of the situation from the word “go.”
I was taken over to the Lost and Found tent where I showed a police officer her photo.  I have never been more grateful for technology.  There were many questions – what does she look like? How old is she?  What is she wearing? The police officer and the folks at the tent looked physically pained when I mentioned that Lulu was autistic and non-verbal, and that the likelihood that Lulu would respond when called was very slim.  Around that same time, I mentioned to a co-worker that Lulu probably wanted to leave, and then she ran off to the parking lot to look there.  After a few minutes, received a call that Lulu had been found by one of my co-workers...and later Annie told me that when she saw Lulu at the car that she pinned her down and told her not to run away ever again.   
I have never been more frightened in my entire life.  And I’ve never been more thankful to everyone who stopped what they were doing to help, whether it was to look for her or to keep me from falling apart. 
The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child” is not quite accurate.  In Lulu’s case, it takes a whole damn army.  And I am grateful to have my work army beside me.

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