Missing autistic child found at eatery

ROCHESTER -- A Rochester restaurant took customer service to the next level Monday morning, and its only customer was a missing 11-year-old boy with autism.

The staff at Effortlessly Healthy on Scottsville Road were not expecting customers Monday but around 7 a.m., an employee saw 11-year-old Jacalvione "Calvie" Boyd crouching near the building's front door. Boyd was shaking and didn't have shoes on.

Employees took him inside and gave him a jacket and some food before calling police. At first, they didn't know he was the missing 11-year-old.

Boyd had been missing since he left his Avenue D home on Sunday around 10 p.m. Police say Boyd has had a history of leaving home.

"I'm glad, out of all the places, he came here where it's a safe, nice, loving environment where people wanted to feed him and take care of him, and give him warm clothes." said owner Shaina Sidoti, "because he could have ended up in a much worse spot."

News 10NBC also spoke with an expert at AutismUp to find out why a child with autism might leave home, and what you can do to try and prevent that from happening.

"It really, as a parent, there's nothing more terrifying," said Rachel Rosner, director of education.

According to Rosner, roughly 50 percent of children with autism walk out of their homes at some point. She says it's due to a child's constant state of anxiety, and it is not 100 percent preventable.

"I know several families that have every possible safety mechanism that you could possibly think of," Rosner said.

She says keeping doors locked and coordinating with neighbors and other family members may help.

For some helpful information, you can visit AutismUp's safety page at shorturl.at/aiCHR.

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