Safe, Inclusive Home

By inviting your child with special needs to do things with you, you begin to shape their identity as a person who is included. Their self-worth and self-esteem will increase because they feel they are an integral part of the daily experiences of your family. There may be moments when the rest of the world makes them feel less-than.  They will need the memories of these moments with family to remind them that they are uniquely loved and cherished.

In this case, all it took was Dave taking time out to show Mikey a tool or two and smile for a photo. Mikey didn’t truly want to fix the door with Dave, although your child may want to be involved and may show true aptitude in making repairs. You won’t know if you don’t include them. 

In our case, Mikey wanted to know he would be included if he wanted. He stayed with Dave for a few minutes and then he did laps around our downstairs, checking in on Dave’s progress each time he passed the front door. 

Elopement

For some families of kids with autism, elopement is a huge problem.  The kids will run away from their families in public or will become mini-Houdini’s and escape from their homes at all hours of the day and night. It can be truly exhausting for these families and extremely stressful since they are always on high alert that their child may have run off. 

I often see posts on Facebook groups asking for ideas to help keep children inside the home and the replies come in by the hundreds, some from people who are just trying to get their own family through the night. Some of these ideas are brilliant. Some, not so much.

Fire Hazard

Please make sure that any measures you take to keep your child inside are easy for you or another adult to un-do quickly in the event of an emergency. Call or go to your local fire department and ask for their advice.  Explain that you have two potentially dangerous situations: your child escaping and being unsupervised versus the family getting trapped in the house in a fire. Ask for their thoughts and take the opportunity to introduce them to your child. You can also purchase stickers for your child’s windows that let the fire department know that their bedroom is a room with a child with autism who may not respond to verbal commands.

I know these are scary thoughts, but it is especially important for families like ours to think through how we will handle an emergency situation. Spoiler alert: it will likely not go smoothly.

By keeping local police and fire in the loop as you make your emergency plans, you allow the professionals to have input and raise any concerns. This will lead to a much safer environment for your precious kiddos.