For children with autism, many everyday situations can become dangerous without safeguards and proper support, such as ABA therapy.
Autism affects a child’s ability to communicate, socialize, and engage appropriately with certain behaviors. As a result, children with autism often face difficulties navigating the world around them, potentially leading to unwanted and dangerous situations.
Understanding the possible risks of having a child with autism, from being taken advantage of by those who don’t understand them to physical danger, is essential for parents and caregivers to ensure the child’s safety.
This article will explore the most dangerous situations for children with autism and how parents, caregivers, and other adults can help keep these children safe. We’ll examine why children with special needs may be at increased risk and what actions to take to reduce the likelihood of danger.
What are the most dangerous situations for children with autism?
Autism affects how a child interacts and communicates with others, making children with autism more vulnerable and at an increased risk of dangerous situations. By understanding the most dangerous situations for children with autism, parents and caregivers can take extra precautions to help ensure the safety of a child with special needs.
Wandering or Elopement
Children with autism are four times more likely to wander or bolt away. Those with autism may not understand the risks of this behavior and may be unaware of the dangers of crossing streets, finding their way back home, and interacting with strangers. To prevent wandering, consider installing safety gates and alarms, using tracking devices, and engaging only in supervised activities.
Inadequately Trained Caregivers
Using seclusion and restraints for children with autism in educational settings poses severe dangers, including asphyxiation, bodily injury, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and more. Ensure your child’s caregivers are properly trained and experienced with working with special needs children.
Overstimulation by their Environment
Children with autism tend to be more sensitive to loud noises, bright lights, and busy environments, resulting in anxious or aggressive behavior, which could cause harm to themselves and others or damage property.
To avoid overstimulation, create a calm environment with dim lights dim and low noise levels. Additionally, children with autism benefit from plenty of daily breaks to help them stay calm and relaxed.
Bullying
Due to their lack of social skills and understanding of the world, children with autism often become targets of bullying or exploitation. Bullying can range from physical attacks to more subtle such as not being invited to a birthday party or eating lunch alone each day.
Use different learning activities to teach your child with autism the skills needed to recognize and protect themselves from potential danger.
Sexual Abuse
Children with autism can have difficulty understanding social cues and may not be able to recognize dangerous situations until it’s too late. Unfortunately, this inability may contribute to why children with special needs are four times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse.
Accidents Due to Lack of Awareness
Children with autism may be more vulnerable to accidents due to their lack of awareness of potentially dangerous situations, such as wandering into a busy street without understanding the danger.
Parents should supervise their children at all times and childproof their home to help minimize the risk of accidents.
Drowning
Autistic children are at increased risk of drowning because they may not recognize potential dangers of water, such as strong currents or depth, and may not understand the concept of “not going in the water.” Keep a close eye on your child near a body of water, a pool, or bath time. Also, provide them with a life jacket when necessary.
Fire Safety
Autistic children may not understand the danger of fire, may not recognize the warning signs of smoke or smell of burning, and may become confused or overwhelmed in an emergency. To protect autistic children from fire safety dangers, families should install smoke detectors, practice a safety plan frequently, and attach a form of identification, such as a bracelet, in case they become lost in a fire emergency.
Hazardous Items
Autistic children can be at risk of poisoning if they are not properly monitored around potentially poisonous items. Autistic children may not understand the concept of “not eating” and may be more likely to ingest items that can be toxic, such as cleaning products, medications, and plants. Store any potentially poisonous items out of reach and teach your child what items are safe to eat and what items are not.
Accidents at Home
Children with autism require childproofed homes to help minimize the risk of accidents, ranging from falling down stairs, off furniture, or out of windows. Also, autistic children can be prone to self-injurious behavior. Take steps to prevent such behavior by removing objects that can be used to hurt themselves, such as sharp objects or glass, and provide a safe environment with soft surfaces in case of falls.
How can ABA therapy help keep children with autism safe?
Applied Behavioral Analysis, ABA therapy is one of the most commonly applied and effective treatments for children with autism. This form of individualized behavior therapy focuses on breaking down complex, problematic behaviors into smaller steps and teaching the child how to respond appropriately to different situations.
ABA therapy helps children learn the following skills that can keep them safe and promote their ability to make healthy decisions throughout their lives.
- Identify behaviors that may be potentially dangerous and disruptive.
- Recognize and avoid dangerous situations.
- Use strategies to manage their trigger(s) and emotions in difficult situations.
- Communicate with clarity when endangered
- Choose a safer alternative response
Enroll Your Child in ABA Therapy Services
Path 2 Potential provides in-home ABA Therapy administered by one of our Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or other developmental disabilities. At Path 2 Potential, we ensure that your child receives the treatment and education they need to reach their full potential by developing a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan based on your child’s unique needs. Get started with ABA therapy by enrolling your child today.