Keep your child safely in your home

Safety doesn’t happen by accident.

Author Unknown

*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

We all have seen the measures new parents take to child proof their homes. Power outlets get covered, knives get stored way up high, and counter edges get a piece of foam. Well keeping your autistic child safe is a bit different. The name of the game is keep them in the house. The scariest thing for autistic parents is going to sleep and your child somehow getting out of the house and wandering off. These tools will help you sleep better knowing your child will be where you left them in the morning. It’s all about safety for autism

Isaiah playing in the backyard years ago

1. First thing you need is a lock on all exterior doors that can’t be opened by your child. I absolutely realize that in a fire situation this is not ideal, but for a parent of someone on the spectrum the risk of a wandering child far outweighs the risk of an emergency evacuation from your home. What has worked for me is an electronic lock like I’ve linked below. All you do is set up the lock where the buttons face the inside of the house instead of the outside. Yes this looks a little odd to people coming up to your front door. Yes they can just walk right in, but you are going to have the non deadbolt lock to use for your regular lock. Also adding a chain or some other locking mechanism will keep intruders out. This is all about keeping your kids in the house and safe, tradition be damned right?

2. Next you need to secure your backyard. It’s nice to let the kids play in the backyard, but if they can open the gate and run off then you can never feel comfortable watching from the window as they play while you get stuff done. Each gate needs two latches that are set up on the non backyard facing part of the gate. Set one up at the upper part of the gate and one at the lower part. This will make it hard for your kids to get out unless they decide to do some climbing. Safety for autism often feels like keeping your child a prisoner at home, but you and I know it’s crucial to keep them safe and protected. I like the below option for my backyard.

3. What about windows? Barring up your windows might be a bit dramatic. We want to teach our kids that it’s safe in the home and them leaving without an adult is dangerous, but we do need to make sure they can’t just open a window and take off into the wild blue. One option that works well is to install a keyed lock like the below. Obviously this works but then you’re hiding a key somewhere that you’re likely to forget about. There may also be an easy way to rig up the window so they can’t unlock it. I found that zip ties are the all purpose for things like that. Often times you can lock the window with it’s current set up and just zip tie around the whole thing. Problem solved.

4. Should you get an alarm system to alert you when your child is leaving the home? This is a question I struggled with and the answer is it depends. I’ve found most alarm systems to be more annoying than helpful. They often go off for no legitimate reason and when they do, if your child is sensory sensitive like mine are then you can really scare your child and cause behavioural issues. With that said, Simplisafe offers a good product at a fair price. I understand there is a way to get alerts on your phone without sounding a siren. This could be a good fit to help secure your home from theft as well as alert you when someone is trying to leave.

5. Finally, what do you do if your child gets out and you aren’t sure where to look? Our instinct is to run and yell, but as I’m sure you know autistic kids don’t always respond. With kids on the spectrum it happens way too often. Kids are crafty and if they decide to run it only takes a split second and they can be out of site. Never fear, technology has given us the ability to track our kids via GPS. The question is what can you keep on your child so that you can track them. If they have a phone, always keep tracking on. There are GPS watches specifically for kids that will track them as well as allow your voice to come thru. Some even have video. If you can get your child to wear it at all times, this is a solid choice. I don’t need all the bells and whistles. My family is an apple phone family so the Airtag works great for us. Safety for autism isn’t brand specific though so if you use android they may have something similar.

Another solid option is the AngelSense tracker. This tracker will allow your child to be accurately tracked as well as the ability to listen in on them. You can also talk to them from the device. The only downside is there is a monthly subscription of $39.99 that seems a little hefty. Also the child has to have the tracker on them, meaning you are going to have to find a way to keep it on their person. Seems easy, but it’s not. Safety for autism can sometimes be pricey, I know.

What about a Tile? Tile is made for finding things such has keys, purses etc. It is not ideal for tracking special needs children, but in a pinch it’s better then nothing. If you have no other options available and need to track your child you can tie this to their belt buckle and the app will show you the last update it has on the location. It just may not always be real time which is why it shouldn’t be used for tracking your autistic child. It’s a great tool for finding your keys and I recommend it for that. Plus it’s cheap. Spend a little more for your kids safety though.

Using these five tools to safeguard your home will protect your child from the dangers of wandering and help you sleep better at night. Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments.