Child Proofing Your Home for an Older Child with Autism

For the past two years I have endlessly searched ways to child proof my home for my eight year old son with autism. I browsed the Internet, bought books on autism, and asked around. All I ever found was ways to child proof your home for babies and toddlers which my son had already figured out. He mastered every cabinet lock and could unlatch them and replace them faster than we could. So what do you do when your child with autism is too smart for their own good and safety? If you are like me you've had a meltdown or two and cried in a corner feeling helpless and alone. However, I finally did come up with a few ideas that do work (at least for now) and am more than willing to share them in hopes that I can help other parents who have older children with autism so they won't have to go through the same frustration and feelings of defeat. I have also included some mess reduction tips as well.

When the exterior cabinet safety locks no longer work for your child, Safety 1st now has a magnetic cabinet/drawer lock called Tot Lok that is completely concealed and can only be opened with the magnetic key. The downfall is that it can be quite costly at around $20 for four locks and one key. Also, they are not the easiest to install so this part can be scary, especially if you have upgraded cabinets. Read instructions carefully and thoroughly before beginning the process. You can find the locks without the key, but I recommend buying what you need with the key, that way you have extra keys in case you lose one. Keep the key up high in a container or basket that does not interest your child. Because of the expense and installation process you may want to rearrange your cabinets so that the items you don't want your child to get into are in minimal cabinets and drawers. There is another option that can work the same for less money and easier installation, but it wouldn't be concealed. You can always purchase the locks with keys like the ones you would find on a doctor's cabinet or filing cabinet. The downfall with this, is that I'm not sure if you can buy several locks that could use the same key or if they only sell them each individually. If you could only get one lock for each key then I would use the colored rubber rings to mark which cabinet they should go to and mark each lock with the same color to the key that goes to it with a dot of acrylic paint.

If you have rooms that you wish to keep your child with autism out of and the child proof knob covers have been figured out by your child, you have to start thinking lock and key. My son has two younger siblings and one teenage brother. None of the siblings want him in their room because of two reasons. One, his fascination for television and DVD player buttons resulting in broken electronics and two, he has PICA like tendencies. This means he puts everything into his mouth. He doesn't necessarily eat everything but he does give everything a good chewing. So to protect the sibling's rooms, I replace their regular door knobs with key entry knobs. Each sibling has their own key on a colored ribbon that they wear as a necklace and I have spare keys with a matching color ring to each key as spares in case they lock their keys in their room or lose them. My son has a fascination for soap and water. The laundry room is now off limits to him. I used one of the knobs I took from the sibling's doors and replaced the dummy knob. Most bed/bath doors can be locked but can only be unlocked from the outside with an L key that is kind of like mini flat head screwdriver that you have to fish into the hole of the knob to get it to unlock. Most people keep this L key on the top of the door's frame, but if you're short like I am you can cut a thin strip of cardboard and tape it to the wall high enough where your child with autism cannot get to it, but not too high so you still can.

My son had a grand fascination with liquid soap and would empty a whole bottle smearing it all over the bathroom floors, sink, and mirrors. I replaced the liquid soap with bar soap. So far we have not had any more soapy messes.

Some children with autism have a very hard time with potty training. My son is one of them. He doesn't like to be soiled but doesn't tell anyone he is and tries to change himself leaving feces all over himself, the wipes box, floors, walls, bed, etc. He has also tried to keep himself by taking off his pants and doing his business on the floor. Daily carpet cleanings first thing every single morning got old quick. We could never catch him before. It was as if he waited for us to be busy and he would go to his room. The solution we have come up with and that has worked so far is keeping him in jeans and a belt placed on backwards. The problem with this that we had in the beginning was that our son could undo the belt even with it on backwards. We started using the braided type belts and inserted a twist tie through the braids, twisting it, and tucking the ends in between the belt and jeans. We have not had a problem since and he now says, "Change!".

Raising children with disabilities is hard and you will have many trials and errors. With every solution you will probably be faced with another problem to figure out. When you find yourself getting frustrated just remember, God chose you for a reason. You can do this. I hope this article will assist those going through similar situations.