How do I manage my child's eloping?

Wandering away, running off from home to play down the street, or leaving a classroom is called elopement and is a serious safety concern. There is a high risk of getting lost or hurt, and if they can’t communicate who they are or where they live, it can quickly turn into a dangerous situation.

Rose Griffin, speech language pathologist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and founder of ABA Speech, explains, “If the child is eloping, we want to see: are they eloping to go somewhere? So let's say a kid is trying to leave their house. Why are they leaving? Do they want to go outside to take a walk? Do they want to go to McDonald's? Whatever it is for the kid, it goes back to communication. Why is the kid just leaving? Do they want to go somewhere? Can they tell us that? Are they equipped to have a device or pictures, or are they talking to be able to discuss that?…. Think about the functional communication piece. Does she want to go see her friends? Well, you need to tell me that. And those are things that we all have to think about from a communication standpoint.”

She adds that then from a parenting standpoint, parents can have someone come in, such as a BCBA on your child's team, and have a home visit to figure out how parents can keep their child safe. For school, parents can request a 1:1 aide to their IEP if the child has a tendency to wander off at school.

Dr. Stein explains that eloping, as well as flopping, are signals from a child that something's wrong. He gives examples: “This class doesn't work for me, this time of day, this transition, whatever it may be, is not working. And therefore, I'm going to exhibit these behaviors. What we have to do is look at what's going on before to trigger that behavior, and then what's happening after it to reinforce it.” That’s where a Functional Behavior Assessment and a positive behavior support plan come in — to get ahead of the behavior and intervene before it even occurs because we understand the nature of it.

For more information, see our full article Common Behavior Challenges in Children (and How to Approach Them).