With any child, there are certain measures you must take to ensure their safety in your home. When you have a child with autism, there are special considerations to make. Here, we have outlined ways you can better secure your home so you can rest assured that your child is safe.
Install High Fences
To ensure that your child can play outside in your yard, it is important to install a high fence that they are unable to scale. If you have a pool or other water features in your backyard, ensure that it has its own fence. Autistic children are often fascinated by water, so it is especially important to take extra precautions around any sized body of water.
Use Child Safety Locks
You may consider using child safety locks to protect your autistic child. Install them on the cabinets, and use them to keep doors locked inside your home for rooms such as the bathroom, attic or garage. Also do not forget to install a toilet lock. Other safety precautions you may consider around your house include electrical outlet covers and no-pinch drawer closures.
Use Safety Gates
It is typical for autistic children to have a tendency to get out of bed and wander in the middle of the night. While you have hopefully locked all the doors leading outside of your home, you may try avoiding this situation altogether by putting a safety gate on their bedroom door at night. If you have older or taller children, putting two safety gates on top of one another could help. This ensures that you can get a good night’s sleep, knowing that your child cannot wander out of the house without your knowledge.
Rearrange Your Furniture
Make sure that the furniture in your home doesn’t give your child ways to escape out of the house. Make sure that there are no chairs under windows they could climb out of, or side tables that they could climb on and unlock the front door. If your child typically attempts escape via a certain path, you could arrange the furniture to block their way as well.
Secure the Windows
If your child likes climbing out of windows, install locks on them. Additionally, consider replacing your glass windows with Plexiglas if they have a tendency to bang on the windows.
Consider Extra Locks and Alarms
If your child is an escape artist, and extra bolt lock that is out of their reach may be helpful. Additionally, you may consider installing an alarm that lets you know when the door has been opened. That way, if your child does attempt to escape in the middle of the night, you will know.
Use a Monitor
Even when your house is fully secured, you may still have stress about the safety of your autistic child in your home. It may relieve your stress to put a baby monitor in your child’s room. Video baby monitors allow you to peek in on your child without even getting out of bed, so if you need that extra peace of mind, a monitor may help.
There are a lot of considerations you must make when you have a child with autism, but you are not alone. We at Normal Life understand what it is like, which is why we offer the autism home support services you need to lead a normal life.
