Avonte Oquendo Case Study

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"Avonte, this is your mother," the recording said. "You are safe. Walk toward the lights”, echoed around New York City the night of October 4th, 2013 (Botelho, 2014).
Avonte Oquendo, a 14-year-old Autistic boy living in Queens, and attending Long Island City School wondered out of the school without being noticed. Teachers and administration were given specific instructions from Avontes mother to not let him out of your site because he has a tendency to wander. One of the side doors of the building was left open around noon, this is when Avonte, who was alone in the halls decided to wander out. It took his teacher several minutes to realize he wasn’t in class; it took fifteen minutes for the administration to be notified and a half hour before the police were contacted. Avonte’s body was later found in the East River in January.
There is a growing danger associated with those who are mentally impaired wandering off, endangering themselves as well as others. There is a cultural desire for those with mental impairments to live normal socialized lives. For example, students with autism attending normal public school programs with extra help as well as the desire for elderly impaired adults to maintain their independence contributes to an increased instant of these risks. But as technologies with Global Positioning Systems advance, the implantation of such devices for the medical reasons in humans, raise ethical concerns.
Problem
Autism spectrum disorder, commonly known as Autism or ASD, is a growing disorder throughout the country. Autism is a group of disorders that affects the brain and how it develops. “The Centers for Disease Control describes ASDs as: "developmental disabilities that cause substantial impairments in social in...

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... used to track wayward pets. And privacy groups say it strips Alzheimer’s patients of their human dignity” (Sawyer, 2007). The question really comes down to if the benefits out way the perceived civil rights of patients with illnesses that compromise their decision-making skills.
I propose that Microchip implantation should be permitted to those who are affected with significant and permanent conditions. There must be proper controls and standards for classifying patients whose condition warrants this drastic intervention. A line of consent from not only family but from both doctors and judges together would be required. The subject should be examined and tested and truly benefit from Microchip implantation. If the doctor agrees that the risk warrants the solution then a judge must review the case and sign off to make sure that each case meets ethically standards.

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