It was just like any other routine bike trip for Madhav (name changed) and his father as they started on their cycles that early Saturday morning. Little did they know how adventurous, and even stressful, the day would turn out to be.

Madhav is an autistic teen, who enjoys cycling along with his father. This Saturday, driven by his instinct, he somehow rode away from his regular route while on the way back home after cycling for 2 hours. He had not been going for cycling for more than four months due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and that might have been the reason for this detour.

His father, when he realised that he had lost sight of Madhav, started tracking him through a GPS installed in Madhav’s phone. But Madhav had strayed really far. Madhav’s dad came back home in a panic and accompanied by his wife, drove out in his car to trace him.

They followed the route suggested by the GPS tracker on Madhav’s phone, which is usually enabled just to manage a situation like this, should it arise. They were led to an ice-cream shop only to find the phone but not Madhav. Madhav had visited the shop and had ordered an ice-cream. But he didn’t have money to pay and told the shopkeeper that his father would pay. He was chased away by the shopkeeper, who also seized his mobile phone.

Madhav was now without a phone. He was also trying to trace his father. He recalled his father’s workplace and assumed he could meet him there. He was unaware that the IT park was closed. The security guard outside the park stopped him. Madhav struggled to explain his need clearly to the guard. Tired and famished he parked his cycle outside the IT Park and went to sleep.

Before that, however, he managed to convey to the security guards that he was waiting for his father. He slept on the bench and woke up around 6 pm. He couldn’t find his cycle. Little did he know that the security had parked the cycle inside to keep it safe. By now, it was dark and the teen left for home, walking.

On his way, he met a food delivery personnel from Swiggy, from whom he requested some food. The Swiggy delivery man, true to humanity, gave him a pack of Upma. After his meal, he continued his walk from Taramani Cancer Institute to Rajbhavan and finally to Teynampet, where he was stopped by the police at around midnight.

Here the cop, understanding that he was lost, asked him to share his parent’s phone number which Madhav was able to tell. Clearly, none had asked him this before. The cops called Madhav’s father, and the relieved family rushed to meet him and took him back home.

In fact, when questioned by the police, Madhav was able to describe the route from Teynampet to home and mentioned that he was heading back home through Nandanam, Venkat Narayana Road to West Mambalam. He was aware of what he had done, but not why he did it. He didn’t know he was lost.

It was a traumatic day for Madhav’s family and they are lucky to be reunited after a brief separation. But, not every kid with special needs, who goes missing is able to get back with the family. Some are traced after months or even years while several are never found at all.

Wanted: A more supportive ecosystem

Two years back the city lost Praveen, a person with special needs, to an unfortunate accident. But even today, we notice the lack of awareness, sensitivity and basic human kindness.

Upon reflecting on Madhav’s incident, one can only wonder why the ice-cream parlour vendor was so keen to seize Madhav’s phone? Couldn’t he just have asked the teen to call his family from there and pay up? Couldn’t the security guard at the IT park have asked Madhav if he wanted to call his father?

But it is not just them. Most of us are either unaware of or insensitive to the needs of children and adults alike Madhav. Adults with special needs such as autism require support and understanding from society as a whole: public servants, common men, institutions and everyone who moves in a public zone.

We need a robust social framework that can help people with special needs, or conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, navigate our roads and operate independently without getting lost. Technology does provide some respite today, though not fully.

Recommended steps

Special Child Assistance Network (SCAN) is a support group for special needs families.

They give the following pointers on how the state, as well as caretakers and parents, can work together to enable children and teens with special needs to roam safely:

SCAN is also planning to come out with guidelines for parents, on what to do in case a child with special needs goes missing.

What can you do to help?

We are yet to find a solution to this problem. But the need of the hour is not only technology solutions that can trace people. As a society, we need to come together and do our bit if we spot someone with special needs wandering in a public place.

Often, we are not sensitised to identify when a person with special needs may be requiring assistance. Experts point out:

• They are characterised by aimless wandering, unaware of the surroundings.
• They generally avoid eye-contact and may not be able to articulate their situation very well.
• They may not understand the danger of oncoming vehicles on a busy road.
• They have repetitive action and may be hypersensitive to sounds. They will close their ears often to noise.

SCAN offers some insights on dealing with such individuals if you spot them

In case you don’t get any cooperation (which is expected behaviour), you can reach out to the nearest police station.

Alternatively you can also reach out to SCAN on the following numbers: +91 73056 78969 and +91 98409 31790.

Another channel is a government website, Khoya-Paya, which is specifically built to register, report or search for missing children.

Please accompany the lost person until help arrives. It is important for us to show patience and extend help wherever possible. Our individual actions and behaviour today will determine the kind of society we build for the future.