A 10-year-old nonverbal student with autism slipped away from recess at Johnson Upper Elementary in Westland on Monday, triggering a search that his mother says moved far too slowly before anyone called police. Kassandra Richards, the boy's mother, says the delay and shifting details she received afterward have left her questioning whether the school can keep her son safe.
According to a timeline reported by ClickOnDetroit, surveillance footage showed the boy last on camera at 12:38 p.m. Monday. School staff did not realize he was missing until 12:52 p.m., when an official search began, and police were not called until 1:09 p.m. Richards says she did not get a call from the school herself until 1:20 p.m.
Richards says her son was eventually found safe minutes from the school on Newburgh Road, and she has said she is grateful he was found unharmed. But the gap between when he vanished and when authorities were alerted has stuck with her. She said delayed police notification exposed her son to risks from pools and road traffic, given the area surrounding the school.
A Mother's Trust, Shaken
Richards told the outlet that the shifting information and the length of time involved deeply shook her trust in the school. She has raised serious safety concerns given her son's disabilities and the surroundings near the playground, arguing that a school should respond immediately once a child is discovered missing, not nearly 20 minutes after the fact.
A person Richards identified as a staff member indicated the school would consider adjustments going forward, including positioning more adults near the playground and the parking lot. It is not clear from the district's public statements whether that specific change will be formally adopted.
District Response Stays Vague on Next Steps
Livonia Public Schools, which oversees Johnson Upper Elementary, said in a statement that it is focused on thoroughly investigating, understanding, and responding to all concerns shared with the district. The district added that it always carefully reviews policies and procedures, as appropriate, to meet the needs of its students and school community.
A district spokesperson did not answer specific questions about whether safety procedures will be updated, citing limitations on what officials can say about individual student matters, per the same ClickOnDetroit report. That leaves open whether Monday's incident will lead to any concrete changes at the school.
Part of a Wider Pattern Nationally
Westland's case echoes incidents elsewhere this fall. In Massachusetts, a 5-year-old student with autism walked off the Dighton Elementary School playground during recess and was picked up by police after reaching a nearby home, according to Turn to 10. Superintendent Bill Runey apologized afterward, saying the district had breached the family's trust, and announced plans for new fencing, reinstated recess monitors, and an independent investigation.
In Portland, a mother said her nonverbal 5-year-old son with level-two autism left Grout Elementary through an open playground gate in September and ended up in traffic, as reported by NewsNation. That family and Portland Public Schools disagreed over how long the child was unsupervised, and the district acknowledged that staffing challenges played a role in its response.
Research suggests these episodes are not isolated. A 2016 study published in PLOS ONE found that 26.7% of children with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, or developmental delay had reportedly wandered away, or eloped, within the previous year, most commonly from public places. The same study found children with autism alone, or autism combined with intellectual or developmental disabilities, were more likely to elope than children with those disabilities alone, according to PLOS ONE.
Supervision Questions Already on the Table in Livonia
The Westland incident also follows concerns raised directly to Livonia Public Schools' board. Two attendees at a recent board meeting pressed the district to clarify student-to-adult supervision ratios for recess and lunch after what they described as staffing cuts, according to Citizen Portal. Whether that concern factors into any review of Monday's incident remains unknown.
For now, Richards says she simply wants clarity on what went wrong and assurance that it will not happen again. The district has not said whether any specific safety procedures at Johnson Upper Elementary will change as a result of Monday's search.
