On October 14, 2005, the Seattle Times published a news story about two boys with autism, ages 7 and 8, who were missing from Kokanee Elementary school for two hours before they were found walking near Interstate 405. They were picked up three miles from school by a school bus driver who had been alerted that the students were missing and a KIRO-TV reporter who was in the area reporting on the story. Washington State Patrol troopers were also out searching for the boys after several motorists called 911 to report seeing two young boys wandering the freeway.
Here is a book covering means of proactively addressing elopement . Although not written for schools it should offer some good insights.
According to Susan Stoltzfous, Northshore School District spokeswoman, the school notified the parents of the two boys, the police and school-bus drivers who were on streets in the area, after a search of the school grounds turned up no sign of them. The actions taken are part of the school-district's plan to handle cases of missing children.
Mike Crain, the father of one of the boys, spent several frantic hours at home waiting for news about the boys while his wife, Shirley, and the other boy’s mother joined the search. He said he did not understand how to students with special needs could walk away from school. He intends to pull his son out of the school and he is considering suing the school.
Northshore School District spokeswoman, Susan Stoltzfous, credited the school for finding the boys quickly. She indicated that the school will examine how to learn from this incident, but she stressed that current system worked well for recovering the boys. Crain expressed a strong dissent to her statements.
Stoltzfous reported that the school has playground reporters who would have been responsible for watching the boys at the time of their disappearance.
As the above story demonstrates, elopement is one of the most significant and dangerous behaviors schools too often are totally unprepared to address and handle. In my practice, I have had several children who are at risk for elopement. The lessons that have I learned from these cases and from the above story are as follows:
Schools are reactive and not responsive to elopement. Schools rarely have fire drills to address elopement behaviors. Shock, panic and search are among the reactions that prevail. Unsurprisingly, parents mirror back the same emotions plus a healthy dose of blame and often very ugly litigation to assign legal fault. As will be discussed below, there are other more constructive and proactive ways to address elopement before it happens.
Even though allowing a child to elope appears to potentially constitute criminal endangerment, and charges have been leveled against parents (e.g. leaving a child momentarily in a hot car), criminal authorities typically refuse to bring charges. School personnel seem to enjoy a de facto immunity. This reluctance to enforce the law is unfortunate. Greater accountability would certainly follow if there were risk of criminal liability.
Elopement needs to be addressed in a proactive manner involving the entire school and especially the personnel who have a direct role with the child. The first thing to do is to create a written plan for addressing elopement behaviors. Roles need to be assigned. Visuals (e.g. yellow tape at the threshold of the classroom door), social stories, and directions in both verbal and nonverbal form need to be created well ahead of the crisis. Staff need to understand their roles and the plan literally needs to be rehearsed. Staff needs to be trained in crisis intervention techniques involving the finer points of proximics (how you communicate through body language), and ultimately as a fail safe, physical restraint with trained staff in accord with the law (23 Ill. Admin. Code § 1.285).
The child's schedule needs to be analyzed for the times and places that pose the greatest risk for elopement. Field trips, gym, cafeteria and moving in the hall may need to be curtailed or eliminated. The child's classroom, or even school placement, may need to be changed if the school is too inherently unsafe because of its proximity to traffic or other hazards. While I am always reluctant to move a child to a more restrictive placement, in the short term, such a placement change may be preferable compared to the risks involved in staying in a building where staff is ill trained and equipped and the building itself presents a risk.
The third primary element that needs to be address is equipment. Walkie talkies are critical. Communication within the classroom and the building is essential.
Perhaps the most important proactive step is the implementation of a good quality Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan. The premise is that if we understand why the child is seeking to elope and what are the antecedents are to the elopement, then we can address the underlying behavioral process that is leading to this dangerous act. It should be possible to recognize the patterns and events that precede the desire to elope and to manipulate those events to at least lessen the risk of elopement. Positive reinforcement for not eloping are key parts of comprehensively addressing this risky behavior.
Elopement is more common than most schools are willing to acknowledge. After the fact, excuses and justifications are just too little and certainly too late. Tragedies can be headed off and the risk of harm lessened with good quality planning and recognizing the risks involved.
My 9 yr. old son suffers from Autism, Sensory Integration Disorder, ADHD, Depression with Manic Eposides, Anxiety, an Immune disorder, Asthma, Chronic Lung disease and JRA. First, he eloped but only was able to get to the end of the hall. Second, he ran down a few hallways and was stopped at the second set of doors exiting the building. Lastly, he eloped on a cold Feb. day with no coat on and I found him knocking at my back door. (We live a block and half from the school). The school insists they can keep my son safe and meet his needs even though a neuropysch and an hospital inpatient therapist have suggested a theraputic day school. What do I do next? Please help.
Ed. Insist on a good FBA/BIP and a crisis plan to keep him in the building and under close watch. Request that all staff have walkie-talkies or other means of reliable communication.
Posted by: Renee James | February 19, 2008 at 07:53 PM
I have a 12 year old son with autism with elopement issues in school and while out. I can not get his school to do a formal FBA on why he is eloping. There is no BIP in place.The teacher says she is taking data but there is nothing more done to address it. Their remedy is to attach an elastic cord to his belt loop and use that while walking in the school building or outside. I have even found it attached to a table leg in the classroom in the free time area. I was livid when I found my child tied to a table like an animal! I am in the process now of trying to find out my rights since I did not sign a consent to using the restraint nor did I agree for them to allow him to be tied to a table. They have not tried any type of behavior plan to address the problem or take the time to teach him not to elope. They do have a crisis plan in place but parts of it are ineffective, ie. there is a door alarm on the classroom door but I have found it turned off on numerous occassions. They do not have a 1:1 asssigned to him which I am fighting for. They inconsistenly use reinforcement systems with him using a token board so he will go a whole day with no reinforcement or positive behavior to praise him when his behavior is good that day.
What can I do. I have a meeting this month to try to address these issue.
Posted by: Paulette Kelly | February 04, 2009 at 09:03 PM
Unfortunately, even with skilled teachers and staff, a solid FBA and a comprehensive BIP (or several, in succession), some children -- our daughter included -- still have elopement issues. Our daughter has autism and mild to moderate developmental delays. She has occasional explosive episodes. She is 15 years old and is physically fit and very strong. She attends a public special education school; her teachers and the school staff are highly educated and very experienced -- and they really care about every child in the school. Our daughter likes her school and her schoolmates, always does her homework, and studies to the best of her ability, most of the time without being pressed to do so. We have identified some triggers for her elopement and her explosive behavior, but quite often one or both behaviors will occur without apparent provocation, and our daughter, herself, says she does not know why she does what she does some of the time. After she "comes down" from an episode, she will often sleep for several hours. Her EEG appears normal. Her psychiatrist is stumped, but we continue to analyze our daughter's behavior and responses as we work with her to create a social/educational structure that meets her emotional, cognitive, and academic needs. It's a challenge.
Posted by: Barbara R | October 05, 2009 at 01:54 PM