A manualized intervention for the assessment and treatment of elopement for autistic youth.
Elopement, in the context of individuals with disabilities, refers to the act of wandering or bolting away from supervision or a safe environment without permission. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disabilities, and communication challenges are at higher risk of elopement. Elopement can lead to serious harm, including accidents (traffic, drowning), injuries, and getting lost. Parent surveys report elopement in approximately 50% of autistic youth compared to siblings without ASD. While research on behavioral treatments have shown success in treating elopement, studies have historically had varied procedures with small sample sizes, making it difficult for clinicians to use the results in their practice in a meaningful way.
Inventors have created an elopement intervention manual that guides clinicians through coaching caregivers in strategies for how to address elopement during weekly appointments with the child’s caregiver. The manual involves a guide for the clinician (200+ pages) that outlines detailed behavioral assessment and treatment components, a script to guide discussions with the caregiver, and detailed ways to collect data and evaluate the child’s progress. It is accompanied by a 40+ page workbook for caregivers that they can use to actively engage in treatment during and between appointments. In a randomized clinical trial with 76 individuals with ASD, the manual was deemed acceptable to parents, therapists could follow the intervention, and the intervention decreased elopement attempts and improved safety related to elopement. It was also shown to decrease caregiver stress.