The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Children on the autism spectrum are at high-risk for serious injury and even death. The session looks at how children on the spectrum become endangered and then features practical ways to minimize these risks. I will discuss wandering, water risks, poisoning, transportation risks and ways to reduce these risks. Children and youth on the autism spectrum are at high-risk for serious injury and even death. Research suggests that these children are about three times more likely to die as a result of an unintentional injury in contrast to their typical peers. Obviously, many of the characteristics of autism contribute to this high-risk profile. The session will begin by showing a number of ways children on the spectrum become endangered. The topic of wandering/ elopement will be discussed as this often the doorway to danger. As children wander they often find their way to water and drown. I will share a number of strategies that parents can use and that professionals can suggest in an effort to prevent elopement and drowning and minimize other risks.  I will consider risks related to transportation. Motor-vehicle risks represent the highest area of risk for a child over the age of 4 years and with good safety procedures these risks can be reduced dramatically. For example, many chidren with ASD refuse to sit in a car safety seat or refuse to correctly wear a seat belt. With good planning, these problems can often be avoided.  If the problem is already in place, I will discuss how to get a child to cooperate and display safe behaviors. This presentation then goes on to consider a wide array of other risks including fire, falls, posioning and suffocation.  

    While schools typically are very safe places for children with autism, we are seeing the emergence of some patterns of risk at school. In some cases, staff who should be activley supervising chidren with ASD are engaged in “cell phone play” and with this comes risk that a child may wander away or engage in some dangerous behavior.  Another risk relates to how a school responds to a wandering incident.  Best practices call for people at the school to call the local 911 emergency number immediately when a child is found to be missing.  But in some cases, delays in calling 911 can result in a child moving beyond the immediate school area and then becoming endangered unnecessarily. These new risk patterns will be discussed along with a number of problem prevention practices that parents should insist on in their child’s program at school. I offer parents several tips for goals that could be included in the child’s Individualized Eductional Plan (IEP).  While parents and teachers both agree that safety is important, parents report that safety goals are rarely included on the IEP.  I will provide a set of suggestions for getting safety goals on the IEP.  Finally, we will look at a planning process that should be used by every family with a chid on the autism spectrum to guide family efforts to keep the child safe from unintentional injury.

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