A mother became locked outside a master bedroom while her autistic 2-year-old son paced inside, unable to unlock the door. The vacation rental lacked spare keys and tools, and other doors and windows lacked deadbolts, making escape easy. Half of autistic children run off without warning, increasing elopement risk, especially in unfamiliar locations. Many families with autistic children avoid vacations; a 2019 IBCCES survey found up to 87 percent skip travel. Some property owners are adding locks and other safety measures after near-miss incidents, attempting to make rentals safer for families with autistic children.
The door slammed. I heard a click and grabbed the door handle. But it wouldn't turn. "Unlock the door," I pleaded. No answer. I crouched onto the floor and peeked under it. My autistic 2-year-old son had locked himself into the master bedroom, leaving me on the outside with my husband and 3- and 4-year-old daughters. He was so close I could have touched him.
The locks on the bedroom doors weren't even the biggest threat. It was how easily the front door unlocked with a little push on the handle. There was no dead bolt either. As parents to three autistic children, this was unnerving. None of my kids had ever wandered out of the house before, but the possibility was pretty high. According to the CDC, about half of autistic kids run off without warning, commonly referred to as eloping.
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