Sammy Sparks (Criminal Minds)

'Sammy Sparks is a one-time character in the American crime series Criminal Minds.

Early life
Sammy is the only child of Alison and Charlie Sparks. His aunt, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Sparks was the first to suggest that Sammy may be autistic. His dad refused to accept this and the ensuing fight caused a rift between Lizzie and Sammy's family.

Coda
Sammy is witness to his parents' kidnapping. With blood splattered on his face and clothes, he goes through the motions of grabbing his lunchbox and bag, and going to school. School staff notify the police when they see Sammy, and an investigation is started. Interrogating Sammy proves to be difficult since he does not speak, although he does make cryptic drawings, so they enlist the help of his teacher, miss Rogers. The investigators want to bring Sammy back to the crime scene to see if it triggers any memories, but miss Rogers opposes this on the ground of it being too traumatizing. Aunt Lizzie is brought in as next of kind to decide what to do. Going back to the crime scene, they manage to communicate a bit by letting Sammy play one note on the piano for yes, and another for no. Combining information from his drawings, his answers on the piano, and information about his strict daily schedule, they can figure out who the kidnapper is.

Appearance
Sammy is a preteen boy with short brown hair.

Autism
Sammy is mentioned to be autistic by one of the BAU agents. He attends a regular school, although they don't really have the resources to properly teach him.

Sammy speaks very little. He has a small wooden train as a comfort object. His days are meticulously planned, and he has the schedule written down on various cards.

Episode list
Criminal Minds
 * season 6, episode 16: "Coda"