Safety & Autism: Helping Your Child Stay Safe at Home and in the Community
Kindness Blog: Safety and Autism
Safety & Autism: Helping Your Child Stay Safe at Home and in the Community
Every child deserves to explore, learn, and have fun! Some autistic children may need extra help learning how to stay safe at home, at school, and in community. With practice, patience, and support, parents can help their children build important safety skills. Safety skills should always be taught year-round. Children on the spectrum have the highest rates of elopement during the warmer months of the year.
As a general rule of safety, all chase based games such as tag and hide and seek should always be discouraged and redirected to "come here." Children on the spectrum cannot differentiate between danger and fun. Parent's should always exercise extreme caution for these types of games. For example, a child on the spectrum cannot decide if playing tag is appropriate in an active parking lot vs at home.
4 Safety Skills Every Parent Should Know
Road and Parking Lot Safety
Teach your child to stop at the curb, hold an adult’s hand, and wait before crossing the street. Use simple words like “Stop”, “Wait”, and “Hold my hand”. Practice these skills together in safe places.
Preventing Wandering by staying actively alert when your child is active.Some children may run away from caregivers or leave an area to reach something they want. This is called wandering or elopement and is extremely dangerous.
Here are a few ways to help:
Keep a close eye on your child, especially near roads, water, and doors.
Use door alarms, secure locks, or other safety tools when needed.
Practice staying close to a trusted adult
Make a plan for what to do if your child gets separated from you.
Remember, learning safety skills does not replace adult supervision.
4. Teaching Your Child to Ask for Help
Communication is an important part of staying safe! Help your child practice saying or showing messages such as “Help me”, “Stop”, or “Break please”.
Children who do not use spoken words can communicate through gestures, pictures, or communication devices. Find a method that works best for your child.
Water and Home Safety
Water can be dangerous, so always provide close, constant adult supervision around pools, bathtubs, and other bodies of water. Pool fences and secure gate can add another layer of protection. Swimming lessons should not replace supervision.
At home, keep medications, cleaning products, sharp objects, and other dangerous items safely stored away.
How can ABA Help?
ABA Therapy can help children practice important safety skills, such as stopping when asked, staying near a caregiver, following safety routines, and asking for help. Skills should be taught in ways that fit your child’s needs, respect their communication, and encourage learning through practice and positive support.
A Quick Tip for Parents
Choose one safety skills to practice this week! Keep directions simple, practice in a safe place, and celebrate your child’s progress. You can talk with your child’s ABA team about safety goal that fit your family’s needs.
Please remember that very child learns differently. The goal is to help your child build skills, communicate their needs, and enjoy the world as safely and independently as possible.
Are you looking for an ABA therapy provider without waitlist? If so you've found us! BeeKind accepts children ages 2 - 18 throughout Georgia and Alabama. Get started with enrollment by clicking here.
Research to Support this Article:
Tekin-Iftar, E., Olcay, S., Sirin, N., Bilmez, H., Degirmenci, H. D., & Collins, B. C. (2021). Systematic review of safety skill interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Special Education, 54(4), 239–250.
Pereira-Smith, S., Boan, A., Carpenter, L. A., Macias, M., & LaRosa, A. (2019). Preventing elopement in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 12(7), 1139–1146.
Martin, C., & Dillenburger, K. (2019). Behavioural water safety and autism: A systematic review of interventions. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 6, 356–366.
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