Dangerous Behaviors
Some compulsive or repetitive behaviors displayed by individuals with autism are annoying or socially inappropriate. But some behaviors are dangerous. Some individuals escape from seatbelts or from cars. Others swallow items that pose serious health risks. Sometimes individuals with autism might obsessively pull fire alarms or touch strangers inappropriately or run into the street. Behaviors that pose a threat to our friends with autism or to others need immediate emergency intervention.
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Strategies to Consider. Caregivers to take immediate, fool-proof steps to prevent dangerous behavior from happening. Longer discussions about managing individual dangerous behaviors over the long term will be found in future podcasts. In today’s podcast, we will just touch on some immediate emergency responses to a few dangerous behaviors.
(1) Swallowing items. If a person starts chewing on and swallowing potentially dangerous items, those items need to ALL be removed from their environment – especially in unsupervised areas such as their bedroom or the bathroom. That means buttons, beads, paper clips, hair clips, rubberbands, coins, rocks, shells, thumbtacks, bottle caps, caps to pens, and anything the person can fit in their mouth. Some individuals will chew buttons off their shirts, so pull-over shirts work best in this situation. Constant, eagle-eye supervision is required in places where all these items have not been removed.
(2) Escaping from car or seat belt. A person with autism who is compulsive about escaping from the car or seat belt might need to sit in the middle of the back seat with a person sitting beside him to help keep his seatbelt clipped and to prevent his opening the back door. Some individuals need two buddies, one to sit on each side to prevent escape. If the problem is extreme, you might want to purchase a car with door locks that don’t allow opening a door when the car is in motion.
(3) Touching strangers inappropriately. A young man with autism who looked like a typical high school student just turned and grabbed the neck of a man waiting in line behind him as if to choke the man. Fortunately, the strange man didn’t overreact and my friend’s dad turned just in time to see what his son had done. But touching strangers inappropriately can turn into an emergency very quickly. If a young adult with autism obsessively strokes the thighs of individuals with shorts, the potential for a major crisis arises when he touches a young girl inappropriately in a grocery store. After all, he looks like a typical young man so the girl’s parents are probably taking a logical step in calling store security or the police. Short of keeping the young man isolated from the public, a strategy for preventing inappropriate touching includes constant supervision, distracting him from individuals wearing shorts, and keeping his hands busy by having him push the grocery cart or carry a loaf of bread in one hand and a gallon of water in the other. Family members and other caregivers can keep these compulsive touchers or grabbers in front of them at all times so they can monitor behavior constantly.
So, these are just a few emergency procedures for caregivers to keep in mind when they encounter potentially dangerous behaviors. Don’t panic. Remain calm and act quickly to stop the behavior.
NOTE TO LISTENERS AND READERS: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. You can click on a button to send me an email with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solutions. Check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. www.FAQautism.com
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