This is a scary thought…
When I first started working with children on the spectrum, I had no idea to watch out for elopement behavior.
In the 6 years of working with children on the spectrum, not once has a parent or professional said to me that I should not leave a child alone for a minute as they might try to escape.
In fact, I didn’t know that elopement was a common issue with children on the spectrum until I read about it in the media.
Slowly, I learned about the many times kids exhibited this behavior.
It could be as simple as running away from the work table.
In light of the Avonte Oquendo tragedy, who ran out of his school through an open door and into impending death, the autism community is looking for the lessons that need to be learned.
Before an accident occurs, it’s very important to talk to your child’s educators about elopement behavior.
Here’s how…
How do I talk to my child’s educators about elopement behaviour?
Dr. Jonathan Tarbox gives parents insights into how they can talk to educators.
Watch his short video clip from Autism Live here:
Here’s a recap:
Pretend your child had the language to tell you: “I’m going to run away when you’re not looking. So you’d better get ready for that.”
If there’s a space that we cannot physically enclose,
there must be an adult at arms length of the child at all times, without exception.
Keep your child safe with this number #1 piece of advice:
Make it physically not possible for the child to escape.
Great insights, and definitely worth keeping in mind.
Stay tuned:
Next week, I’ll be featuring an interview post with Jennifer O’Toole from Asperkids!
About Catherine Pascuas
Catherine is the founder of Edx Autism.