Safety Tips for Special Needs Kids

Safety for special needs children must be a priority in our families. When my special needs son was first born, this seriously did not bleep on my radar at all. You tell your kids no and insist that they mind you. They generally listen, like my oldest son, and that is that.

But, in my autistic son’s genetic circles, I listened to the older parents talk a lot about safety issues, but what I heard from them was complaints. They didn’t talk about what they needed to do, except blame their special needs child for whatever infraction had occurred. Kind of made me mad.

But, one thing we can do for our kids is make things safe and it honestly doesn’t take a lot of money. You don’t need to hire a contractor or make expensive additions to your home. I know this because I keep my son safe and I do it on a budget!

Why do we need special safety tips?

It is kind of like a hamster wheel when you are constantly chasing down your special needs kid to keep them from harm. If you constantly chase down your kid, you get nothing else done. But, if like, when you have a toddler, you make things safe, then there is peace of mind. And, the stress in the family goes way down.

Most importantly, special needs kids live in their own world, where safety is inconsequential. They go where their atypical brain tells them, unaware many times of whether or not it is safe. Further, at least with my son, their reaction to danger may be seriously impaired.

It is up to us to make things as safe as possible for them. If they get out of our confines, at least they cannot go far or get into very much before they are discovered.

Pick the ones that your family needs!

8 Safety Tips for special needs kids

Keyed locks on doors

Probably the biggest issue for many parents is that their autistic kids run out the door or down the street. I didn’t really think my son would do that, but one day he went out the front gate (which was closed) of our fenced property. Talk about panic. I was on the phone so fast with the local authorities.

Fortunately, we live in the country and he was hiding behind a trash can two doors up waiting for the trash man.

It is sort of funny now, but it showed me he had no concept of how he needed to stay in his own fence. After that, the gate stayed locked, and I put double keyed locks on all of my doors. That means, he cannot get out of the door without a key. And since I hold they keys, it isn’t a problem. No flip locks at all!

Lock up cleaners

While most kids don’t have that much interest in chemicals, the special needs kids don’t always understand this. Buy a simple door handle with a key on Amazon or WalMart and lock chemicals in a closet. You can purchase door handles that lock for $9-20 and give peace of mind to your family.

Put window locks on

There are so many different window locks available on Amazon. Plus, they are not super inexpensive. Locks are available for sliding glass doors, windows and lifting windows. Just research them online and find the ones that work best for you.

If you don’t have upstairs window locks on, you should. Have you ever considered the fact that your child might decide to go out on the roof for an adventure? You would be surprised at what goes through their minds!

Safety should always come first.

Keep them busy

We know this with all kids, but our kids have less of a chance to get into trouble if all they need to fill their sensory or obsessive bucket is easy to reach.

Do they use a tablet? Keep it running and easy to grab. Protect it with a cover so that you don’t end up without one. Are puzzles a favorite? Set them out on the table. Crafts, pull them out.

Are sensory items always available? Do they use a ball, keep it in the living room. Are chewies necessary? Tie it on them or keep it near by. Give them whatever they need to stay calm and sensory fulfilled. Are earphones a necessity, put them on to keep them calm.

Safety doesn’t always have to be a physical barrier.

Use baby gates

We still use baby gates, even for the dogs. If your child does not seem to understand that going down the stairs is dangerous, put up a gate that locks. While the super nice baby gates may cost a bit, going to the ER costs even more. Shell out the money until your child understands this safety concept.

Lock them out of unsafe places

What do I mean, well, if your child seems to do things like turn on hot water or turn on the stove, then lock them out of the bathroom and the kitchen. Put as much of a lock on the stove as you can, then keep them out of the kitchen when you are cooking. Put a keyed lock on the bathroom if that becomes a problem.

Keeping our kids safe before serious accidents regularly occur is a priority.

Use tracking devices

My son is rarely without me, so I don’t tend to use this, but I have thought about it. Can you put a device in their shoe or in their backpack? If your child looks for opportunities to run, then put a device on them, particularly if you are going to an appointment or something. Safety in public can be tricky, but possible.

Keep food locked up

The last of my safety tips is for kids who get into food when they shouldn’t, is to keep it locked up. You can purchase locks for the refrigerator (called marine locks) and put keyed locks on your pantry doors.

In the case of my son’s genetic syndrome, we have even keep the pet food locked up. I put it in a hall closet with a keyed lock.

All of this is for our children’s safety and is not punitive. In my son’s case his brain can trick him into overeating to the point of death, all of which is a part of his genetic syndrome. Food safety is 100% important in our home!

Safety ranks higher than therapy

Don’t you think? If our children do not have the space around them confined then they cannot even process how to function in the world. While we may need to get out and go places with our children, we need to remember that they need physical security.

They won’t always look for it and in the end, they will look to us to provide it. Most importantly, their world view is not at all the world the rest of us deal with everyday.