Australian toddler rescued in wilderness may have survived due to autism

Autistic Australian toddler Anthony Elfalak may have survived because his condition prevented him from panicking. (@AlanHashem)

• Investigators: Anthony Elfalak did not realize he was in danger so did not panic
• He was found drinking from a creek after being spotted by a rescue helicopter

LONDON: An autistic Australian toddler who went missing for three days may have survived because his condition prevented him from panicking.
Anthony Elfalak, 3, spent three days wandering in the Australian Outback before being spotted by a helicopter drinking from a creek.
Elfalak, known as AJ, was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and nappy, but investigators believe that his autism meant he did not understand that he was lost or in any danger.
“The reality is (Elfalak) didn’t know he was lost … so he wasn’t scared, he didn’t panic,” the investigator told Daily Mail Australia. “If he was tired, he slept … He had access to water, which is a big thing for survival in the bush.”
The organization Autism Tasmania told Daily Mail Australia that autistic children often have an “impaired sense of danger” when engaged in activities they find stimulating or enjoyable, which in Elfalak’s case might include exploring.
The Australian Outback is known to be a hostile environment, with temperatures ranging as high as 39 degrees centigrade in the daytime in summer, and dropping as low as -2 degrees at night.
Elfalak was returned to his family, who live in a rural community 90 miles north of the city of Sydney where, a paramedic said, he “guzzled” water and a whole pizza.
The family subsequently threw a party for the community to celebrate his safe return, with his father telling local media anyone was welcome to join.
Jonathan Smith, the pilot who spotted the toddler, said: “We’ve been involved in many jobs that don’t turn out like this and it’s been the other end of the spectrum, and it’s just really nice to have a positive outcome like this for once.”