There are times when a child or even a best friend may engage in elopement while you are out completing simple tasks. You may think to yourself, “Why did they just leave or escape without telling you where they are going?'” The layman’s terminology for elopement is called wandering, bolting, or running off, and it is a common concern for parents whose child is receiving behavioral services. Elopement does not discriminate where it will occur. There are
times when it will occur in the clinic, school, home, or community setting. When thinking about elopement, the goal is not just to stop the behavior, but to create environments where the child feels supported, understood, and safe to engage in those desirable behaviors that lead to asking to leave the area.
From an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) perspective, the focus is on preventing problem behaviors, teaching skills, and building a safe routine. When treatment and intervention focus on helping a child or individual feel supported, understood, and safe, they can become proactive rather than reactive.
What is elopement?
Elopement is defined as any instance where a child or individual leaves a designated safe area or designated area without permission or supervision (Hayman et al., 2016). For caregivers, the biggest concern is always the child or individual’s safety, especially when it involves roads, streets, busy and crowded areas, or unfamiliar environments.
Why Do Children or Individuals Engage in Elopement?
Individuals typically do not engage in elopement to escape something. The individual is
typically engaging in the behavior due to a behavioral function (Arisć, 2025).
- Self-Stimulatory Behavior
The individual may engage in elopement due to movement or sensory input to help regulate
themselves. The environment may have led to sensory overstimulation. - Escape from Demand
The individual may be engaging in elopement because the instruction is too difficult for
them, they are overwhelmed, they do not respond to the instruction, or the task is nonpreferred. - Attention-Seeking
The individual may be engaging in elopement to seek attention through the interaction or
connection. - Tangible
The individual may be engaging in the behavior to gain access to a preferred activity,
person, or place.
Prevention Is The Most Powerful Strategy
When thinking about how to reduce elopement, the most effective proactive strategy is
prevention and planning before it occurs. The parent or caregiver of the child/ individual should
have the opportunity to plan for elopement. When considering implementing any intervention, it
is essential to be proactive in reducing elopement.
So, how do we become proactive in reducing strategies?
- Make the Environment Predictable
Making the environment predictable allows the child or individual to feel safer, as they know
what is happening. It allows the individual to know what step will occur after the next. Some
predictable environmental tools to use may include:
- Visual schedules.
- Countdowns to when the transition from one activity to the next will occur.
- Clear and concise instructions.
- Consistent structure.
- Premack Principle (also known as “First…then.”
When the transition is about to occur, allow the child or individual to be primed for when the
transition will occur. An example may be, “First grocery store, then game.” Priming an
individual allows for predictability, which reduces their anxiety because they know what will
occur next.
- Stay Close During Those High-Risk Moments
One of our golden rules is to keep the child or individual within 1 to 2 feet of you during highrisk
moments. This allows parents or caregivers to be close enough to redirect in the moment,
potentially. Some high-risk moments may include:
- Community outings
- Crowded environments.
- Emotional distress.
- Non-prime change in routine.
To assist you during these high-risk moments, it is essential to be prepared. Some techniques
to utilize during this time include: - Maintaining line-of-sight for the child or individual.
- Position yourself near the exit sides.
- Reduce distractions from yourself when possible.
- Consistently staying within close proximity.
- Pairing the child or individual with another individual who can help to continue providing
environmental predictability during the high-risk moment.
- Teach the Child or individual What To Do Instead.
While it is easier to tell a child or individual what not to do, it is essential to teach them what to
do. Behavioral skills training is an effective intervention for teaching appropriate abductionprevention
skills to children or individuals (Ledbetter-Ch et al., 2021). It is through these skills
that the child or individual learns safety responses when they are training for elopement in
concerning situations.
The most frequently used intervention to reduce elopement is Functional Communication
Training (FCT) when combined with other interventions (Arisć, 2025). This approach helps teach
appropriate alternative methods of communication rather than engaging in elopement. Some
appropriate alternative communication methods include: “I need a break,” “All done,” or
“Wait.” When a child or individual has a safe way to communicate their needs, it helps
decrease the likelihood of elopement. - Building Safety Skills
Safety skills have to be taught, practiced, and reinforced. For all individuals, safety skills must
be taught to be used. The skills being taught are all life skills required for their adaptive daily
living, not just a behavioral goal for a short-term fix. When teaching safety skills, they should
encompass:
- Asking before leaving.
- Responding when their name is called and stopping the activity.
- Staying within a safe distance near their caregiver or guardian.
- Stopping when told to stop or pause.
- Walking in proximity to an adult, caregiver, or guardian.
- Waiting at a door or designated area.
What Am I To Do If a Child or Individual Tries to Run?
You need to remain calm during this period. It may be hard to remain calm; however, it is
important not to give the behavior additional attention, as it could lead the child or individual to
increase the frequency of the behavior in the future. What you will do is use safety responses to
create a predictable, controlled environment.
Step 1: Move closer.
You will want to be in close proximity to deliver the instruction. It is necessary to be within 2 to
3 feet of the individual to deliver the instruction.
Step 2: Use short and clear instructions.
When using short, clear instructions, you should tell the child or individual what to do rather
than what not to do. Use short, clear instructions so they can respond. Remember, you are
only giving one instruction at a time. Too many instructions from multiple people, or multiple
instructions, may give the child or individual the opportunity not to follow through on the
instruction you give.
An example of a safety instruction includes: - “Stand by me.”
- “Walk with me.”
Step 3: Guide back to safety.
It is essential to guide the child or individual to a safe area. If you are transitioning back to the
original area or to another safe area, you will want to complete Step 4 within 2-3 seconds of
the child or individual engaging in appropriate safety behavior.
Step 4: Reinforce safe behavior.
As the child or individual transitions back to the safety area, provide praise for engaging in the
safety skill being demonstrated. Children or individuals will repeatedly engage in the behavior if
they do not receive descriptive praise for their appropriate behavior. When providing
reinforcement, it should be specific to what you are seeing.
Continuously Reinforce the Safe Behavior.
When reinforcing safety, it is important to celebrate when the child or individual is independent
or when prompted to demonstrate the safety behavior. The safety skills taught should be
reinforced may have a safety reinforcer other than descriptive verbal praise for the behavior
being demonstrated.
Safety Requires a Team
Preventing elopement is not the responsibility of one person. Strong safety plans should
include caregivers, community supports, family members, school staff, or therapists. When
creating a safety plan, it is essential to consider who will implement it and ensure that everyone
follows the same procedures. By everyone implementing the same safety plan, it sticks and
prevents any confusion.
Conclusion
Elopement is a safety issue that can be addressed. It is necessary to understand the reason
behind it, prepare the environment, teach replacement skills, and provide clear and concise
instructions. Reducing a child’s or an individual’s self-regulation can enable them to explore,
grow, and learn more in their environment. Ultimately, safety is not about restriction, but about
preparation.
References
Arsić, B. Behavioral treatments used for elopement reduction in autism: a literature review.
(2025). Journal of Educational Sciences Psychology, 15(77)(2), 271-290.
https://doi.org10.51865/jesp.2025.2.23
Hayward, B., Ransley, F., & Memery, R. (2016). GPS devices for elopement of people with
autism and other developmental disabilities: A review of the published literature.Journal of
Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 13(1), 69-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12148
Ledbetter-Cho, K., Lang, R., Lee, A., Murphy, C., Davenport, K., Kirkpatrick, M., Schollian, M.,
Moore, M., Billingsley, G., & O’Reilly, M. (2021). Teaching children with autism abductionprevention
skills may result in overgeneralization of the target response. Behavior Modification,
45(3), 438-461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445519865165