{"id":817122,"date":"2026-07-21T20:57:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/817122\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T20:57:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:57:16","slug":"mother-calling-for-indigo-alerts-amid-search-for-calgary-boy-with-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/817122\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother calling for ‘indigo alerts’ amid search for Calgary boy with autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

CALGARY \u2014 A Calgary mother of a seven-year-old boy with autism is starting a campaign to make changes to Alberta\u2019s emergency alert system after the disappearance of another boy with autism almost a week ago.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Ball says missing vulnerable children should trigger a faster public notification, even when there\u2019s no evidence they have been abducted.<\/p>\n

She has started a petition for an alert similar to an Amber Alert for missing neurodivergent children.<\/p>\n

Ball says she would call it an indigo alert, since the deep purple colour is associated with autism awareness.<\/p>\n

Last Thursday, 11-year-old Parker was reported missing from his daycare home in Calgary, prompting an extensive search for the boy who has autism and is non-verbal.<\/p>\n

An Amber Alert was issued about two days later, after the Alberta government granted an exemption due to circumstances of the case. <\/p>\n

Amanda Pick, CEO the Missing Children Society of Canada, says the current Amber Alert system has a deliberately narrow purpose.<\/p>\n

She says she understands why families want broader alerts, but officials must also consider alert fatigue if they become too common.<\/p>\n

Pick points to the Child Search Network, a police-operated system that sends geographically targeted text alerts in high-risk missing child cases that don\u2019t meet Amber Alert criteria.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

Add CityNews Calgary as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n

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