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Autism, Water Safety & Elopement:

What Every Caregiver Should Know

 

Understanding the Risk

Children with autism are at higher risk of both elopement (wandering or running away) and water-related accidents. These behaviors can happen suddenly and without warning, often during moments of stress, transition, or curiosity.

  • About 50% of children with autism have wandered from a safe setting at least once.

  • Drowning is a leading cause of death for autistic children, often following an elopement incident.

 

Elopement Safety: Preventing Wandering

Why It Happens

Children with autism may wander due to:

  • Seeking something they enjoy (e.g., water, playgrounds, certain sounds)

  • Avoiding overwhelming situations

  • Difficulty understanding danger

 

Safety Tips for Elopement

  • Secure exits with child-proof locks or alarm systems

  • Use wearable GPS trackers or ID bracelets

  • Teach safety commands (e.g., “Stop,” “Wait,” “No street”)

  • Create a safety plan with neighbors and local police

  • Visual boundaries: Use clear visual cues (like stop signs on doors)

 

Water Safety: Awareness & Prevention

Children with autism are often drawn to water because of its sensory appeal — the sound, sight, and feel can be calming or fascinating.

Water Safety Measures

  • Never leave a child unsupervised near water — even bathtubs or buckets

  • Enroll in swim lessons early (preferably adaptive swim programs)

  • Fence all pools and ponds with self-latching gates

  • Use visual aids and social stories to teach water rules

  • Practice emergency drills with caregivers and siblings

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What Parents Can Do

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Providers who teach swim lessons:

​Bethlehem Township Community Center-**also offers open swim

Where: 2900 Farmersville Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18020

Call: (610) 332-1900

​Website

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Five Star Swim-**also offers open swim

Where: 1597 Lehigh Street, Allentown, PA 18103

Call: 610-351-0017

Website

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​Swim-In Zone (specializes in non-verbal/children with limited verbal skills)  **also offers open swim

Where: 4355 Saucon Creek Rd. Center Valley, PA 18034

Call: 610.625.4848

Form for special needs

Website

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Wandering and Elopement

  1. ​Be ready to implement an emergency family wandering plan, click here to print a copy.

  2.  Invest in a tracker if you feel your child needs it.

  3.  Create an ID to keep in your child's wallet.

  4.  If you have a non-verbal or child with limited verbal skills, order the Yellow Dot sticker and attached to your window to alert emergency crews in case of an accident.

  5.  Create a Child Profile that is Amber Alert ready with Community Partner 4 Kids.

  6.  Invest in autism friendly swimming lessons.

  7. Create IEP/Behavioral goals. Click here for examples.

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First Responders

Yellow Dot: This program assists citizens in the "golden hour" of emergency care following a traffic accident when they may not be able to communicate their needs themselves. After filling out the online form, PennDot will mail you a packet. Placing a Yellow Dot decal in your vehicle's rear window alerts first responders to check your glove compartment for vital information to ensure you receive the medical attention you need. For more information, click here.

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Make it an IEP Goal

99 Community Safety and Transportation IEP Goals

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Tracking and Monitoring

AngelSense has a pending patent GPS technology for tracking and monitoring children with special needs. This company only hires parents with special needs to do their customer service. This is a device that physically gets attached inside a pants pocket or around the waist will allow you to monitor where your child is at all time. It can be disabled during school hours. The AngelCall is a two way voice in which you can contact your child to check in without having them to pick up the phone.

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Amber Alert GPS is an award winning GPS technology. They provide a number of states with their Law Enforcement Alerting Portal (L.E.A.P.) technology to issue AMBER Alerts at no cost. It's a wearable product that is water resistant and compatible with Android and iOS technology.

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