Caretaker charged in death of 12-year-old autistic boy

This story reminds me of how, when you are the parent of an autistic child, “safety first” becomes second nature.

28-year-old Tameka Elliott was charged today with Criminal Negligence Causing Death, according to the Toronto Star. Elliot was taking care of a 12-year-old autistic boy when he fell to his death from her 16th-floor apartment in Scarborough on the evening of May 4. Elliot went into another room and, on returning, the boy was missing; a witness who saw the boy fall called police, who found him in front of the building.

“’Children with autism require more care than your typically developing child,’” Louise Fleming, executive director of Autism Society Canada, was quoted as saying.

I can only echo Fleming’s words.