Elopement & water safety

What can we do to prevent drownings?

Local news outlets in Minneapolis, MN (US), for 21 and 22 October 2024 reported that Mohamed Mohamed, an 11-year old with autism, drowned in a pond after wandering away from his home. Mohamed is the second child with autism from the greater Minneapolis area who drowned. Waeys Ali Mohamed, age four, drowned in a creek in June 2024. In his coverage for KARE11 TV news on 21 October 2024 (“After two recent deaths, autism advocates say community must do more to protect children”), Gordon Severson referenced the earlier drowning when reporting about the more recent one. Here is his story

These events are wrenching, and I’m glad to see that the community is calling for actions to help prevent more children with autism from drowning. There are evidence-based actions that special educators and families can take to reduce the chances of accidental drowning. I’ll explain those in a subsequent section of this post. First, though, I need to clarify some facts perpetrated by the expert in Mr. Severson’s video.