Wandering is a significant safety issue for Autistic individuals of all ages. This page is intended to provide a variety of resources from organizations around the country who are working to provide information, programming and other support to improve safety for Autistic individuals who wander. In the Greater New Orleans area, due to the large amounts of easily accessible waterways throughout the entire region, no discussion of wandering would be complete without a discussion of water safety and swim lessons, as such, this page also has a section specifically about water safety.
Statistics:
- 49% of children with Autism attempted to elope at least once after age 4
- Of those who eloped, 53% went missing long enough to cause concern
- 2012 study finds children with Autism are 4x more likely to wander than their neurotypical siblings
- 50% of parents report receiving no guidance on preventing or addressing elopement
- 56% of parents identify elopement as one of the most stressful behaviors they had to cope with
- 91% of deaths in children 14 years or younger with Autism are due to drowning
- people with Autism are 160x more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers
Autism Society of America Safety on the Spectrum Program.
The Autism Society’s Safety on the Spectrum™: Water and Wandering Program is a national effort to increase water safety education and training across the Autism community. The program works to not only prevent wandering-related tragedies, but to increase water safety skills among Autistic individuals and their families.
The Autism Society of America has developed an adaptive aquatics curriculum that supports instructors and the Autism community nationwide. The initiative focuses on proactive programming, prevention, and improved responses to wandering incidents.
The program also includes a number of free documents such as guides and toolkits, safety plans, and visual supports.
Autism Society Maryland webinar on water and wandering in English and Spanish.
Autism Society of Florida wandering resources.
Check out these resources on their website including a page on Wandering,
National Autism Association wandering resources.
About Autism and Wandering: https://nationalautismassociation.org/resources/wandering/
Big Red Safety Box: https://nationalautismassociation.org/big-red-safety-box/
Spanish Only big Red Safety Box: https://nationalautismassociation.org/store/#!/NAAs-Big-Red-Safety-Box%C2%AE-Grant-Application-Optional-Shipping-Donation-See-Description/p/678739579
Local safe return registry programs.
Kenner Police Department Safe N’ Sound Program: https://kennerpd.com/safensound/
ATA Lopez Foundation Safe Return Program: https://www.atalopezfoundation.org/safe-return-program
Additional articles.
- CDC- Wandering (Elopement)
- Cleveland Clinic: Autism and Elopement: What You Need To Know About Wandering
- Pub Med: Occurrence and Family Impact of Elopement in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Child Mind Institute: Autism and Wandering
- Kennedy Krieger: Nearly Half Of Children With Autism Wander Or “Bolt” From Safe Places
- IACP: Promising Practices to Address Wandering of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities or Dementia
Water Safety and Swim Lessons
The Autism Society of Greater New Orleans maintains a resource list of local swim lesson providers who offer adapted programming for Autistic individuals. If you know of a provider who is not on this list, please email us at info@asgno.org so we can add them, or fill out our suggest a new resource form here.
- Autism Society of Florida has an informational page on Drowning Prevention
- The Autism Society of America Water and Wandering program has social stories in English and Spanish about water safety in multiple locations: Visit their website
- Autism Society of America Water Safety Packet (English).
- National Drowning Prevention Alliance Website: https://ndpa.org/
- NDPA Water Safety Season Toolkit: https://ndpa.org/toolkit/
