Ideas Please! Neil keeps escaping!

[Pussowl]

Our 8yr old severely autistic son, who has moderate learning disabilities & attends a special school, has this week learned to:

1) Open our front door and let himself out of the house [This means he is now tall enough to open the high level yale lock and has worked out he has to open both the yale lock and the door handle to get out]

2) Climb over the 5 foot security fence around our back garden.

He has escaped five times (twice out the door & three times out of the garden). he has also been prevented from escaping several times when spotted during an attempt.

He has no idea of the danger. He thinks it is a wonderful game and every time we find him he responds as if it has been a game of hide and seek (lots of laughing & smiles). So far he has been found a) in the local quarry, b) in the fields opposite, heading towards a main A road. c) wandering up a road towards one of the local council estates (having already crossed rough ground near the quarry...)

We, his family, are getting stressed out!! We can solve the front door problem by always remembering to lock the mortice lock - he hasn't worked out how to use keys (yet!!). However, summer is coming and previously we have been able to let Neil into the back garden relatively unsupervised ie not watching him every second.

Does anyone have any ideas of how to make a 5' security fence more secure?

Is there any legal way of 'tagging' him so that if (or rather when) he does escape we can locate him quickly?

Are there any other parents of autistic children on YD who have any ideas that may help?

This is really a request for a 'brainstorm session' from which we may get some ideas; it is not meant to be a sob story - Neil can be great fun and we love him dearly.

Thanks,

Shuna

[Jim Shaw]

I would put a slide bolt high up on the door, ( although he may get a chair to reach it ) and I would put a padlock on the back garden gate, and maybe consider changing the fence to one which is higher, and a design that can't be climbed easily, I know that there are rules about how high your fence can be ( 6 feet / 1.8 metres I think ) but if you dug a 1 foot trench round the botom of the fence, then he would realistically have to climb 7 feet to get over it, ( although I conceed that this may not be the best plan you've ever heard )

other than that, you may consider contacting the autistic association, my sister has a son who's mildly autistic, and she found that there were local support groups available, which were a great resouce of knowledge and support to her when her son was young, and going through the school system.

[John N]

Well, you could electrify the fence but I guess thats a bit drastic
Spiky or dense plants might help.

Do a search on google for tracking devices. there are plenty around. Here's a link.
http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/ab...-tracking.html

[andy pandy]

What sort of fence is it, if you dont mind me asking ?

[Darren A]

Originally Posted by Pussowl

Our 8yr old severely autistic son, who has moderate learning disabilities & attends a special school, has this week learned to:

1) Open our front door and let himself out of the house [This means he is now tall enough to open the high level yale lock and has worked out he has to open both the yale lock and the door handle to get out]

2) Climb over the 5 foot security fence around our back garden.

He has escaped five times (twice out the door & three times out of the garden). he has also been prevented from escaping several times when spotted during an attempt.

He has no idea of the danger. He thinks it is a wonderful game and every time we find him he responds as if it has been a game of hide and seek (lots of laughing & smiles). So far he has been found a) in the local quarry, b) in the fields opposite, heading towards a main A road. c) wandering up a road towards one of the local council estates (having already crossed rough ground near the quarry...)

We, his family, are getting stressed out!! We can solve the front door problem by always remembering to lock the mortice lock - he hasn't worked out how to use keys (yet!!). However, summer is coming and previously we have been able to let Neil into the back garden relatively unsupervised ie not watching him every second.

Does anyone have any ideas of how to make a 5' security fence more secure?

Is there any legal way of 'tagging' him so that if (or rather when) he does escape we can locate him quickly?

Are there any other parents of autistic children on YD who have any ideas that may help?

This is really a request for a 'brainstorm session' from which we may get some ideas; it is not meant to be a sob story - Neil can be great fun and we love him dearly.

Thanks,

Shuna

If they are fence panels, I'd replace the 5 foot panels with 6 foot panels, and put a trellis ontop to make it a bit taller. With regard to the front door, get one of the door chains that let you open the door a few inches, but locate it at the top of the door so he can't reach it.

Piccy of what I mean:



Use self tapping screws and you can even use these on UPVC doors/frames

Good luck.

[tom]

Tracking / tagging: most of the systems available in the UK are based around mobile phones at present, e.g.

http://www.childlocate.co.uk/

This is an interesting GPS based one, but I don't know if it would work in the UK:

http://www.geminitracking.com/

Finally, regarding door locks: what about a combination keypad (the kind where you punch in a code to unlock it).

[Adrian Kelland]

Shuna,

The problem with tracking is the time it takes to realise Neil has escaped and needs to be found. Meanwhile he is in a potentially dangerous situation. I'd also bet he could memorise the keypad lock without a problem.

I like the prickly plant idea, some roses are downright evil. They have the advantage of being a natural defence from people climbing over the other way too.

Have you spoken to some kind of autism support group? You may well find you are not the only ones with this problem.

Best of luck,

Adrian

[Big T]

Originally Posted by Adrian Kelland

Shuna,

The problem with tracking is the time it takes to realise Neil has escaped and needs to be found. Meanwhile he is in a potentially dangerous situation. I'd also bet he could memorise the keypad lock without a problem.

I like the prickly plant idea, some roses are downright evil. They have the advantage of being a natural defence from people climbing over the other way too.

Have you spoken to some kind of autism support group? You may well find you are not the only ones with this problem.

Best of luck,

Adrian

you beat me to it Adrian.
My nephew Nathan is autisistic aged 8. He is hard work but worth it. As Adrian says some sort of tagging wouldn,t work. It wouldn,t keep him out of danger. Really think you need some expert advice. With nathan i feel like i have to have eye,s in the back of my head but I do find if I continuously sit him down and have the same conversation of how and why he shouldn,t do whatever, it do eventually get there.
Best of luck T XX

[yazzyfooty]

Shuna

When I worked in a small home for adults with a variety of learning disabilities their bedroom doors each had a small buzz alarm which activated when the door was opened therefore alerting staff.
Caution must be used that you do not use too many locks on your door incase it impedes you making an emergency exit from the building.
I think the suggestions for thorny plants and raising fencing are good ideas.

Good Luck

[Kalahari Diver]

I think that really stiff locks at an awkward height might help. Our son by the time he was two, demonstrated that it was really easy to get "child proof" tops undone. So we resorted to doing things up too tight for his strength. Perhaps if you put bolts in that are high up and slightly out of line so the gate has to be lifted to free it, he won't be able to cope but in an emergency an adult would manage easily.

Hope this helps,

David.