Stranger Danger

8/16/2013

It was brought to my attention, by Kate's awesome autism support worker, that two little boys at Kate's daycare thought it was funny to tell her that her daddy was there to pick her up, because they thought it was funny to watch her get excited and run up the stairs and latch onto a man, not her dad. You see, Kate believes all men are 'daddies' and all women are 'mommies'. She is known for running to any 'mom' or 'dad' that walks in the door and latching onto a leg saying, "Hi, Mama" or "Hi, Dada." I am guilty of laughing at this. I found it cute. The moms and dads that she latches onto find it cute, too…..I think.

The first problem is that now the kids think it is funny, based on my example, and they are picking on her. I don't know which boys and I don't want to know because it was not their fault. It was mine.

The second problem is that this behaviour is dangerous. Although, I know, Kate would choose Alex or I over a stranger, I also know that she would have no problem going with a stranger if we were not there.

Kate's daycare is phenomenal. I don't talk about them because I don't want people to know where Kate spends her days but let me tell you they are wonderful and they protect and love Kate. They quickly spoke to the boys about teasing Kate and informed me of what happened.

Even so, I worry. I worry because Kate does not perceive danger the way other children might. I worry that if a child told Kate her daddy was there to get her, she might go looking for him. The daycare is secure. There are fences and multiple people watching the children at once but a parent worries.

Do your children, autism or not, wander? Do they understand danger?

3 Comments

Heather

8/16/2013 12:15:13 am

I hear ya!! A worry I constantly have....David will go with any adult that says "C'mon"....I am glad to hear the daycare spoke with the little boys that thought it was funny....

sophiestrains link

8/16/2013 02:25:02 am

Sophie doesn't seem to be aware of danger like walking out into the middle of the road, say. But she wouldn't walk anywhere with a stranger because she doesn't even respond when we say "come on" :). It is concerning but not all that unusual at this age yet. I've babysat perfectly typical kids who done it, way past Kate's age. They still have many years of requiring constant supervision ahead, I wouldn't worry.

Jacqueline Patron

2/28/2014 04:07:46 am

I am fearing this summer! Elyse is a wanderer. She loves taking anybody's hand a walking with them... Elyse is turning 3 this March and she is in the early stages of being diagnosed with autism. One of her sensory issues are band aids or anything sticky. Last week, she cut both of her hands on two different days. One was very deep, the other was more like a paper cut. I couldn't get the bleeding to stop, full melt down... blood on the walls, on the carpet. Once everything was over, I spent 2 hours on both nights cleaning blood off of anything and everything. This summer,with knee scrapes etc... scares the hell out of me!

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Stranger Danger

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