Avonte Oquendo, 14-year-old boy diagnosed with autism, has reportedly been missing for a week.

According to the Huffington Post, the teen can't speak and was last seen on surveillance footage running away from the Riverdale School just before 12:40 p.m. last Friday.

"We only get a few hours of sleep every day, our mom can't stop crying, we can't eat," Danny Oquendo, Avonte's older brother told HuffPost. "It's very tough on our family, but we believe he is still alive."

NBC 4 News reports Danny has taken on the lead for search efforts. He set up a command post where his little brother was last seen.

"We get leads throughout the day, and whenever we get them, we try to take them seriously," Danny said. "We call police detectives, then volunteers who go to that area."

Avonte's father, Daniel Oquendo, is also apart of the search efforts, which have reportedly brought in countless volunteers.

"We can't even sleep," the father said. "It's hard to sleep knowing your child is out there and he could be cold and hungry and he can't even communicate."

The family confirmed to the HuffPost that they have contacted a lawyer to file a lawsuit against the school for Avonte's disappearance.

"[Danny] said the security guard did not prevent Avonte from leaving the school, and nobody told the family he was missing until an hour-and-a-half after his disappearance," the HuffPost reports. "Jack Ryan, a spokesman for Liu, said the office has not received the document yet but said it may take as long as 24 hours to process."

Danny said there have been many leads, but few sound credible because of his brother's condition.

"People said that they spoke to him, and that's something that Avonte cannot do," he said.

According to Fox News Latino, the organization Autism Speaks has offered a $50,000 reward to the person who returns Avonte back safely.