When someone leaves a safe area or a responsible caregiver (CDC, 2019). When a child wanders, they usually get injured or harmed in one way or another.
According to the Pediatrics Journal 2012, 50% of children on the autism spectrum wandered off from common places like home, school, or another safe place at least once after they turned 4 (Hyman & McIlwain, 2019).
Key Safety Skills to Teach Children on Safeguarding
All the above mentioned skills can be taught through social stories and/or a video model. Initially you may need to break the skill down and prompt your child for the right response. You can gradually fade the prompts when your child gets more fluent with each skill. Don’t forget to reinforce and reward your child after each attempt, and make sure you are giving it enough practice!
The moment you realise your child is not with you:
After ensuring all preventative measures are in place, check if your child has any tendency to go out of the house on his own.
If yes, break down the communication skill of requesting to go out, and practice it with your child.
Discuss with your spouse and other family members living in your house on sharing the responsibility to safeguard your child.
Work out a schedule and assignment of family members to run this practice with your child.
1. Hyman, S., & McIlwain, L. (2019, December 10). Keep Kids with autism safe from wandering: Tips from the AAP. HealthyChildren.org. Retrieved January 1, 2022, from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/Autism/Pages/Autism-Wandering-Tips-AAP.aspx
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, September 18). Disability and safety: Information on wandering (elopement). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved January 1, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandsafety/wandering.html
3. Kay, S. (2020). Teaching children with autism about safety. Expert Columns: Teaching Children with Autism About Safety. Retrieved January 1, 2022, from https://www.mayinstitute.org/news/acl/asd-and-dd-child-focused/teaching-children-with-autism-about-safety/