Elopement Patterns and Caregiver Strategies.

Findings are based on parent report, not objective measurement, and parents may miss elopement attempts that happen when the child is not with them. The study was a one-time survey, so it cannot show that any intervention caused fewer elopement attempts. Families often used several interventions at once, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The sample was self-selected and not representative: only 526 respondents were analysed, the response rate was approximately 9%, included children were younger and had more severe ASD symptoms than excluded respondents, and most were white and from households above the poverty line. Children under 4 years were excluded, and the study did not address adults living away from parents or group homes. Parents were not asked to separate different behavioral specialist services or different purposes of interventions, such as reducing attempts, blocking attempts, alerting caregivers, or reducing consequences. ASD diagnoses were based on community diagnosis and parent-reported Social Communication Questionnaire scores, not independent clinical confirmation.

Do not read the high parent-rated effectiveness of locks, fencing, or behavioral aides as proof that they prevent elopement. Families used many strategies at once, and the survey could not separate which component helped or whether the behavior would have improved without it.