Thousands of Connecticut children are on the autism spectrum, and awareness of the social, communication and behavioral challenges they face is much better than when Patricia "Trish" MacDonald of Niantic was raising her son in the 1990s.

"When Casey was born, there was nothing for kids, and now there's tons of things," said MacDonald.

April is World Autism Awareness Month, and special events are being held as part of a "Light it Up Blue" campaign. Locally, Groton City Police, who have a mandatory certified training program for autism awareness, are holding a "Touch a Truck" event at the city municipal building from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

MacDonald fought for every service her son, Casey Moody, received, and at 27, he has a job, an apartment in Norwich and a pickup truck. He does well on medication and with continued support services from the state Department of Developmental Services; Alternative Services — Connecticut, a Colchester-based nonprofit; and The ARC Connecticut advocacy group.

MacDonald is proud of her son's progress but said he has always been high-functioning and that people misunderstand that he is different even though he looks and often acts like everybody else his age.

Moody and his girlfriend left the area last week and went to a Cromwell hotel, where MacDonald said they were staying with people whose motives were unclear. She feared for her son's safety, but even as his legal guardian, she could not do much. Norwich Police were helpful, she said. They issued a silver alert after she reported him missing. But when she tracked him down days later based on his phone usage, she said Cromwell Police checked on him but said they couldn't do anything further to help.

"The cops said, 'He has a driver's license and he's not under 24-hour care. We can't do anything," MacDonald said. "I said, 'Do you even know what autism is? I ended up sounding like the crazy one."

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in every 59 children between the ages of 3 and 21 is autistic.

Leslie Simoes, executive director of the Wallingford-based Autism Services & Resources Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, said Connecticut has "thousands and thousands" of people with autism within its borders, but the agencies, schools and groups that serve them differ on the exact numbers.

Easter Seals in 2014-15 reported that 8,278 Connecticut children between the ages of 3 and 21 were on the autism spectrum.

Thousands more are adults, and Simoes said that one of the biggest issues facing people on the autism spectrum, whose needs and abilities vary widely, is the lack of services after school systems are no longer involved. Some qualify for group homes, but beds are scarce and waiting lists long.

"When they age out at 21, they go into a swirling vortex of nothingness," she said. "Transportation is huge. Housing is huge. Young adults are stuck at home, living with their parents, and at 21, when the school system is no longer there for them, they suddenly have to transport their kids to day services or to a bus line. You're talking about a population that can work, can pay taxes, can contribute to the community, but they need a little bit of support."

Trish MacDonald said she is grateful to the agencies that provide services to her son and said they work well as a team, but programs are still lacking for those on the autism spectrum.

Casey Moody and his girlfriend eventually ran out of money and returned home on Saturday, saying they had learned a big lesson, according to MacDonald. She's relieved that he's safe but said he could continue to find himself in bad situations because of the lack of recreational programs for adults with autism.

"Once in a while they have a dance, but there's nothing else," she said. "There's Special Olympics, but my son's not athletic and not interested. He was brought to a Yankees game on a bus trip, but that's not enough."

Simoes said that in general, the state is not equipped to handle the coming "tsunami" of adults with autism who need services.

Lawmakers are considering bills involving autism funding and mandatory training for first responders and one that would establish an internship program for people with autism and allow a tax credit for businesses that participate.

k.florin@theday.com