need help/suggestions re: autistic son - dangerous

[klf73]

Ok, I have 7 children(2months-14yrs) and my dh is deployed to Afghanistan. My 4yo son is autistic and has been pretty easy so far, I just need to be on my toes a little more with him. Well, lately he won't stay in bed. At night he has been going into the upstairs bathroom(his bedroom is up there, mine is on the 1st floor) and wetting toiletpaper etc, just making a huge mess. So I started locking after the last kid used it and unlocking it before I went to bed. This worked. This morning he woke up, came down the stairs, took a stool and went onto a counter and got some nailpolish. He then painted his nails, went to his 6yo and painted her nails while she slept(the ones he could reach) and then went to his 11yo brother and did the same thing except he also painted in his ear. Not being the one that has to clean it I could see how this is funny. To me this is very scary. He could have gotten a knife to visit his siblings or even left the house. He is extremely smart and can open any gate we have gotten. His problem solving skills far exceed his age. He also has no fear whatsoever which is the part that scares me most. We actually had him in a crib until 9 months ago, it had an enclosure to keep him safe. The crib broke under his "activity". I don't know what to do to keep him and us safe. At first he would go to his new, big boy bed and go right to sleep, now I am constantly having to put him back. I am calling on Monday to make him another appt which his specialist doc. I don't know if anyone has had to deal with this but would love to hear ideas.....

 

[BigBadCryBaby]

Wow, he sounds like one resourceful kid. I have an autistic daughter myself, who's now 19, and I am a behavior modification specialist who worked with autistic children for a long time. You definitely need to secure him for the night, even if that means locking him down. I can't really recommend more than that at this point because each autistic child presents such a complex and unique behavioral pattern that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan. Get with professionals (if you haven't already) asap. Best of luck, and I'm pulling for you.

John

 

[klf73]

thanks. I need some way to confine him and found the perfect bed. Problem is it is $3600+. I am going to see if I can talk to the doc and see about getting insurance to cover at least part of the cost. I think the only solution here is to get him a new bed since he can open/undo everything else. Thanks for the response

 

[Southernbelle]

I have friends with autistic children. More than once, they woke up the next morning to find he'd gotten up and left the fridge and freezer doors open all night and they had to throw away all that food. I heard one of the mothers mention an alarm that you could put on the child's door and when they cross the threshold the alarm will go off, so you'll know when they're up.

I hope things get better soon.

 

[dntd]

Due to my 11 year old with asperger's we closed the upstairs bathroom and have a lock on my dd room because he will trash it( we use her closet to store things in) he can trash my house in mins. Could never get him to sleeep, he also has ocd,adhd,tourettes fun! At four he was really bad, would take off all the time, we would chase him for hours, quite stressfull. He also breaks all locks even as a toddler locks weren't the answer, nor were alarms because he would sit and think all day on how to beat the system. My son didn't get early help, actually no help until he lit a fire in the basement( fire obsession part of the ocd), then people started to listen and finally he was sent to a dr that could help him.

 

[Equus5O]

This isn't a solution, and you won't get much sleep but how about for the time being you install some sort of an alarm? Either something that will alert you when he gets out of his bed or when he leaves his room.

 

[Wifezilla]

This might not help with your immediate problem, but this may help long term....
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/update-on-autism-and-vitamin-d.shtml

Can your older kids lock their doors?

My autistic son is 20 and STILL in to everything

 

[CoopCrazy]

I would go to walmart and get you a cheap door/window alarm and out it on the outside of his door.. you will lose sleep but atleast you will know when he is wondering... Good luck I have many friends with autistic children and they truly are resourcesful...

 

[teach1rusl]

Could you put a lock on his door (from the outside), and lock him in at night? You could use a baby monitor set on low for him to call for you if he needs access to the bathroom or other assistance??? That seems to me the only sure way of making sure that he is contained safely...for himself and others, until you or a responsible sibling is awake and up to supervise him. I know it sounds negative, but safety comes before political correctness for me.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Thats what i was going to say..they have these alarms that you can put on the outside of their doors..and when they open the door..the alarm will wake you up.. they are very loud..
you can also put them on windows and the outside door... Good luck! he sounds like a busy little guy!