Wandering, bolting, elopement on the autism spectrum

Wandering off in crowded public places was a big problem we experienced with our eldest when he was a toddler up until age 12. They also refer to it as bolting or elopement. There were many occasions when we thought we had lost him only to end up finding him either on our own or with the help of security. This is a horrible experience and I feel for all the autism parents that struggle with this issue.

Some of the occasions when we lost track of our son was in a shopping mall, a Target or Walmart, a restaurant, and even the Chicago auto show.

I was at a shopping mall when he was a little older and he said he had to use the restroom. I was not as familiar with this mall and I told him to go into the men’s restroom as I waited outside by the door. After waiting for over 5 minutes I learned there was a second exit that went a different direction in the mall. I walked toward the back by the second exit and found him wandering around. He didn’t seem concerned he was alone.

Another alarming incident was when my husband met family at a restaurant with the kids and lost him. I was not in attendance. I later learned he had wandered out of the restaurant and started walking down a side street. The police happened to drive by, spotted him and picked him up. When they were driving by the restaurant our son alerted them that his Dad was at the restaurant so they stopped by to check. My husband was outside the restaurant realizing he had left and looking for him.

There were also several occasions while shopping at Target/Walmart stores where he had wandered off to the electronics department or toy section. Instead of looking for him myself I would alert the store and security would locate him.

Also, since our son is a big fan of cars, we would visit the Chicago auto show every year. This was an annual highlight for him. The problem was the event was hosted in a vast indoor facility with crowds of people. He was so excited he would bolt off looking at the different cars. My husband and I would always attend together and one of us would keep an eye on him. Still it was difficult with the large crowds. He wanted to sit in the different cars and would jump in and out quickly and bolt off to the next car. We lost track of him on several occasions but ended up locating him within a few minutes. The key to keeping track of him was dressing him in a bright colored shirt.

Since these days I’ve read about tracking devices they have now to keep your child safe. This is fantastic to help autism parents. Luckily, our son eventually matured and learned to no longer wander off so we don’t have that anxiety.

Feel free to share your own experiences along with success with the current tracking devices. It was a stressful time for us when our son would elope and I wish the best for other parents dealing with this.