Minds Untapped

09/02/2026

When my daughter first received her diagnosis, we were in the thick of daily, life-threatening challenges with nowhere to turn for support. There were endless phone calls to our children’s hospital that led nowhere, all while caring for a newborn after a traumatic birth that I wouldn’t fully process until years later.

That entire period was a blur. We were surviving.

And years later, I learned that some people I knew were mocking me during that time. They weren’t close friends, I always had a sense of who they were, but it still hurt.

It taught me something important: there is a particular kind of cruelty in finding entertainment in someone else’s darkest moments. Some people try to make themselves feel bigger by tearing down those who are already carrying more than anyone can see.

But the people who truly love you don’t critique your survival. They help you find your way back to shore.

09/02/2026

🫶🏼

A constant fear.

08/31/2026

08/30/2026

FINAL UPDATE: MISSING CHILD’S BODY FOUND
The body of missing 5-year-old Saylor Hayes, who has been the subject of an intensive search involving hundreds of people and multiple agencies, was found this morning. Agents with the Department of Natural Resources located her around 9:45 in the waters near the area where she was last seen. Saylor wandered away from a rental home in Hagley Estates in Pawleys Island late yesterday morning. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Department of Natural Resources, Charleston Sheriff’s Office, SLED, Horry County Fire Department, Midway Fire Department, Georgetown County Fire Department, Georgetown County Emergency Services, and Georgetown City Fire Department. Hundreds of residents from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded local docks. The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office thanks everyone who assisted in the search and sends its deepest condolences to the young girl’s family.

MISSING GIRL UPDATE (4:15 PM) Divers from Horry County are on scene to search around area docks. Operation Lifesaver signals are being sent from helicopter and ground units. Searches continue by boat and on foot.

Anyone who spots 5-year-old Sailor should call 911.

MISSING CHILD UPDATE (3:10 pm): A helicopter from Charleston Sheriff’s Office equipped with Project Lifesaver equipment has just arrived in the airspace above Hagley. Because the signal is being beamed from the air, it is wider and less impeded by topography and is more likely to pick up the signal from 5-year-old Sailor Hayes’ transponder. All other efforts in the neighborhood and along the Waccamaw shoreline continue. Anyone who spots Sailor is asked to call 911. She is nonverbal so please speak gently and slowly to her and do not expect a response.

MISSING CHILD UPDATE (2:25 pm): The search continues for 5-year-old Sailor Hayes, who went missing from a home on Old Waccamaw Drive in Pawleys earlier today. Deputies are using Project Lifesaver to try to pinpoint her location, while K9 Pelle and deputies search the neighborhood. Deputies and County Fire are flying coordinated drone searches over the area. Midway Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol are searching the water and shoreline as volunteers guard the docks. A CodeRed (Reverse 911) signal was sent out to neighboring homes earlier today and neighbors are assisting in the efforts. If you live nearby, we ask that you review any home security footage to see if she appears on it.

If anyone locates Sailor, they are asked to call 911. She may not respond to you verbally but will react positively to a gentle tone, smiles, and slow movements.

MISSING CHILD
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the help of residents in the area of Old Waccamaw Drive in Hagley where the mother of 5-year-old Sailor Hayes reports that her child wandered off a short while ago. Sailor is 3’6” with blond hair and blue eyes and was last wearing a one-piece light blue bathing suit and a pink and white lanyard around her ankle. Deputies are attempting to track her with Project Lifesaver, but if you see her first, please call 843-546-5102.

08/27/2026

The 2026–2028 Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) Strategic Plan recognizes many critical issues affecting the safety and well being of autistic people. However, those issues remain distributed across separate sections of the Plan, without a comprehensive federal framework connecting surveillance, prevention, implementation, funding, accountability, and measurable safety outcomes.

NASC has submitted two complementary sets of recommendations to help close those gaps.

Our first submission includes 19 broader recommendations to strengthen safety, trauma prevention, and lifespan protection. It calls for a coordinated Autism Safety and Mortality Prevention framework and addresses areas including functional safety needs, early-age suicidality, trauma, victimization, abuse, neglect, exploitation, filicide, homicide, trafficking, communication access, emergency response, the justice system, schools, residential and community services, housing continuity, caregiver and sibling safety, workforce competency, and preventable mortality across the lifespan.

Our second submission provides a revised version of IACC Attachment D, which addresses urgent risks associated with autism-related elopement. NASC’s past and current research and surveillance was used to form the foundation of federal recommendations, but important gaps and inaccuracies remained. Our revisions provide updated data, address gaps, and recommend more specific federal action addressing racial and ethnic disparities, water-first emergency response, clinician education, adaptive swim access, environmental safeguards, schools, foster care, residential programs, housing, temporary lodging, coordinated national surveillance, and coordinated implementation through Autism.gov.

A federal plan should not only recognize safety risk, but also clearly assign responsibility, incorporate direct subject matter expertise, fund and track implementation, and measure whether preventable injuries and deaths are actually reduced.

To read our 19 recommendations, visit https://tinyurl.com/IACC-RECS

IACC's original Attachment D also called for autism-specific Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) language to be developed. That language has already been created by a working group that included NASC, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and other subject matter experts. The language is available at https://AutismWEA.org.

For a complete look at WEA alerting, visit https://www.autismsafetycouncil.org/news-posts/from-awareness-to-action-a-waterfirst-alerting-model-to-prevent-drowning-after-elopement

For NASC's data dashboard on U.S. elopement fatalities, visit SearchWaterFirst.org

08/27/2026

08/12/2026

URGENT UPDATE: Community leaders, the U.S. is now averaging nine autism-related elopement deaths per month. This is a crisis in need of immediate action.

In the last seven days alone, six children have died following elopement. Two cases involved a torn or broken screen door, multiple children drowned in ponds, and multiple rescues have also occurred.

Among 2026 cases where race is known, nearly four out of five fatalities involved Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American children and adults.

Urgent action is needed to strengthen community supports, services, tools, training, and prevention programs, so that these deaths can be replaced with safe recoveries.

Elopement can happen very quickly and quietly, overnight while a family is sleeping, or right in front of a parent or teacher when a child abruptly bolts and outruns them.

In one of our previous studies, 45% of elopement cases occurred under non-parent supervision. This is not simply a matter of “bad parenting” or a parent failing to watch their child.

There is no single safeguard that can prevent every elopement incident. Supervision can have gaps. Locks and alarms can fail. Screens can tear. Routines change. Emergencies happen.

It's why prevention must be layered.

This Swiss Cheese Model for Autism Elopement uses NASC's SAFE framework to help families and communities think through multiple layers of prevention, preparation, and emergency response.

Please review and share the flyer. A single layer may have a gap, but multiple overlapping layers can help keep that gap from becoming a tragedy.

Download the flyer at: https://tinyurl.com/ElopementSwissCheeseModel

Dispatchers, Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) language is now available at https://autismsafetycouncil.github.io/alert-generator/

Our data dashboard is available at AutismDash.org, or https://www.autismsafetycouncil.org/search-water-first

To assist your community, write us at [email protected].

We need communities across the country working together to prevent these deaths and recognize and protect those at highest risk, particularly children with under the age of 10.

08/10/2026

One good way to kick off season: If your child’s school has a fence around the playground, walk it.

Look for gaps, openings, damaged fencing, or areas where a child could get through. Write down anything you find and request repairs before the school year begins. Check that gates are self-closing, self-latching, and fully secured.

Then, Google the school address and look at the surrounding area. Note any nearby ponds, pools, creeks, drainage areas, or other bodies of water that should be included in your child’s school safety planning.

There are many safety considerations when it comes to school, and parents don’t have to tackle everything at once. Take it one step at a time.

Start with our free Guide and Restraint & Seclusion Prevention Guide, linked in comments. Read through them over the next several weeks, identify what applies to your child, and begin preparing for Back to School and Back to Safety.

If you need additional help, you can always reach out to us directly at [email protected].

08/09/2026

URGENT: Clayton County Police Department Searching for Missing Six-Year-Old Child

The Clayton County Police Department responded to the area of the 6000 block of Riverdale Road at approximately 7:43 p.m. regarding a missing six-year-old child, John Ross III.

John Ross III is described as:

Age: 6 years old
Height: 4’2”
Weight: 50 pounds
Clothing: No shirt, blue shorts, and no shoes
Medical/Developmental: John has a developmental disability and is nonverbal.

The Clayton County Police Department is asking anyone who may have seen John Ross III or has information regarding his whereabouts to call 911 immediately.

If you make contact with John, please do not delay in contacting 911 and provide his location and any other relevant information.

This is an active and ongoing search. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.

08/07/2026

is asking for the public's immediate help in locating a missing 5-year-old autistic child.

The child is a white male, approximately 3'11" with brown hair, and was last seen wearing a beige Spider-Man shirt, a diaper, and no pants.

The child was last seen at approximately 5:00 a.m. in the area of Cypress Mulch Circle and Northgreen Avenue. He is non-verbal, does not respond to his name, and is believed to have wandered away from his residence. The child may also have a broken electronic device with him.

If you see this child or know where he may be, call 911 immediately or contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at (813) 247-8200.