How To Help A Found Child
Step-by-step guidance for any adult who finds or encounters a missing child.
📞 Active emergency? Call 911 first · NCMEC: 1-800-843-5678
✅ General Rules
😌Stay calm. Your calm directly affects the child's calm. Take a slow breath before approaching. Lower your shoulders. Relax your face.
🚶Approach slowly from the front. Never approach from behind. Give at least 10 feet of space. Move deliberately, not urgently.
🧎Kneel or sit down. Get to their level. You are less threatening when you are smaller.
👤One person only. Multiple people approaching causes panic. Have others stand back and stay quiet.
📞Call 911 immediately. Even before you approach. Put the phone in your pocket and let dispatch listen.
❌ What NOT To Do
🔇Do NOT shout their name repeatedly. For many children with APD or autism, this causes escalation and panic — not response.
🏃Do NOT chase. Running toward or after a child with autism, sensory differences, or elopement history causes them to run further into danger.
✋Do NOT grab. Even well-meaning physical contact can cause panic or physical injury (EDS, joint instability). Only touch if child is in immediate danger.
🍕Do NOT give food, drink, or medication. MCAS and severe allergies mean any substance can cause anaphylaxis. Always wait for parent confirmation.
💬 What To Say
"You are safe. I am here to help you. I am not going to hurt you. We are going to call your family right now."
"You don't have to talk. That is okay. I am just going to sit here with you until help comes."
"Can I show you something on my phone? [Show written text: YOU ARE SAFE. WE ARE GETTING YOUR FAMILY.]"
📱 If Child Does Not Respond Verbally
📱Show large text on your phone: "YOU ARE SAFE. HELP IS COMING."
✍️Write on paper if available. Point and gesture. Silence is not refusal — it is protection.
⏳Wait. Give them time. A child who goes nonverbal under stress needs space and patience, not pressure.