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Autism Flight Risk; 3 Tips To Protect Your Autistic Child

One of the things that gave me huge anxiety as an autism parent, especially in the early years of diagnosis was autism flight risk!

What’s Autism Flight Risk?

Autism flight risk, also known as Autism wandering, is the inclination of autistic persons to wander away from safe surroundings without notice. For parents and carers of autistic children, this can be a serious problem.

Between March and early April 2023, I have seen two flyers of missing children on the autism spectrum and both are nonverbal. I can’t imagine what their families went through emotionally during this period (they have both been found), and these incidents prompted me to write about this autism reality.

I remember the day we took my son to the beach, he was completely drawn to the huge body of water, and while his age mates were screaming in fear, he wanted to walk into the ocean! Some guys even came to us to let them take him into the ocean, I said NO!

I told myself no more beach visits until he learns how to swim.

In those days, we hardly go anywhere, not just for fear that I may lose my child but imagine the horror of losing a nonverbal child and a child that has a low sense of danger.

There was a time my son almost ran into a moving car.

We once traveled to an unfamiliar environment and when I got distracted for a bit, my son wandered away from me. Alhamdulillah, the neighborhood is a very safe one and he was soon found. Sometimes, when my mind flashes back to incidents like this, I still shiver.

Another thing is that going out means I have to be as vigilant as a hawk which leaves me feeling anxious throughout our stay outside and then tired, sad, and drained by the time we get home especially if we are visiting unfamiliar surroundings.

Many people don’t get it, so you or your children receive the stinky eyes, the subtle insult delivered as ‘well-meaning’ advice.

Alhamdulillah, my son has developed a better sense of danger and will instantly stop when he sees a car approaching, he will even pull the adult walking with him to stop too.

Now that he is 10, I am gradually learning to let go of his hand and let him walk a bit ahead of me on the roadside (with my heart in my mouth and dua (supplications) on my tongue of course ????).

In this blog post, I will be sharing a few tips on protecting a child with autism flight risk.

Create a Safe Environment: The extent you will go to secure your environment will be determined by how severe your autistic child’s wandering habit is and how safe your surroundings generally are. You can simply ensure that your doors and window are always locked, or you can take it a step further to fence your yard or increase the length of your fence or you can go as far as using GPS tracking devices or an alarm that notifies you when the door is opened. As my child grows older, I have had to come up with different ways to keep our entrance doors secure, so far, we have never had an incident of him unlocking the door and wandering off.

Teach Your Child Safety Skills: The fear and reality of being an autism parent are that we will not always be there, and one day, our autistic child will have to take care of his/herself and this is why teaching about safety is very paramount. Some of these skills include, memorizing important phone numbers, how to cross the street, an Id with their information (in case of a nonverbal child), safe places to go, etc. We have made sure that our child knows our real names (not daddy and mummy) among other crucial information. You can use visual aids to help your child understand what is safe and what is not.

Seek Professional aid: If your child is at high risk of flight, it may be beneficial to seek professional aid. Working with a behavioral therapist to establish a safety plan, consulting with a GPS tracking business, or joining a support group for parents of autistic children are all options.

Managing autism flight risk in children necessitates a proactive and comprehensive strategy. You may help keep your child safe and limit the dangers of wandering or running away by creating a safe environment, teaching safety skills, and seeking expert help. Remember that each autistic child is unique, and what works for one child may not work for another. It’s critical to try out different tactics to see what works best for your youngster.