Neighbors autistic children keep eloping, so I keep calling the police?
My neighbor who lives five doors down for me in our quiet residential road has three autistic children. They look about age aged eleven, seven and four. All three non verbal.
I don't have their phone number, but one major incident that alarmed me was when their seven year-old boy eloped and started trying to get inside each house on the street as he worked his way down the street.
At this point, I had not realized which house he belonged to but as a teacher, I recognize autism when I see it.
Eventually, one of our neighbors was able to hold his hand while I called the police. The boy was hard to hold onto because he kept wanting to run away, and we were nervous that he might get into some danger.
Police arrived and we discovered it was our neighbor five doors down.
Anyway, today their daughter who I didn't know existed and who seems to also be autistic, decided to elope this morning while I was planting in my front yard with my two year-old. She did the same thing of trying to get into the house, dismantling the garden hose, coming to sit on a chair, which is absolutely fine with me, but I knew she might carry on going down the street until she gets lost.
This girl was more cooperative when I asked her to follow me back to her parents house she did. I knocked on the door multiple times and pressed the ring doorbell, no answer. I can see their SUV parked in the driveway with all the doors open so someone must be home.
She ended up following me back to my house. I needed to go inside to grab water for my 2-year-old but she followed me inside. I told her to wait outside, but she wouldn't so I ended up having to stand outside in the heat with her and look after her until God knows when her parents would notice she was gone. I was reluctant to call the police again in case they are reprimanded for neglecting their child.
I went back and tried the door again this time a very sleepy father, but a very appreciative opened the door and thanked me. Inside I saw another child. He told me all three of his kids are non verbal.
But am I doing the right thing? Should I have called the police the second time round? How else can I help? I don't want it get the parents in trouble for not watching their kids but equally, I don't want those kids to end up in the wrong place.