Introduction to Safety Blog Series
Safety is an important aspect of parenthood. Every parent and caregiver holds the responsibility of helping to teach their child safety skills in and out of the home. Many parents of children with autism spectrum disorder often find challenges in teaching safety skills to their children.
It is important to teach safety to children for a handful of reasons. One of the biggest reasons we teach safety skills is for children to understand the concepts of danger. Children are naturally curious and want to explore the world around them. Introducing and teaching safety to children will help them to move about their world with a better understanding of how to be safe.
It is important to take the necessary steps to provide your child with the best tools when it comes to safety. There are things parents can do to protect their children with ASD. Below you will find a list of key safety tips that can be utilized with your family.
Being able to state personal information about oneself, is an important first step to creating safety awareness. First, it is important that the child knows not only their own name but also their parents or caregivers name. Next, it is important to teach them a phone number which can be a cell phone or house phone. Teaching a child their address, what town they live in, how old they are, and their birthday are all significant personal information questions that could be asked to your child in case of an emergency. These questions could potentially be asked to your child if they were lost or needed adult assistance in getting help.
It is also important for non-vocal learners to answer these questions if asked. Here are some informative options that can help out parents with tackling safety skills and for our kiddos that may not have self-advocacy skills.
Over the next couple of weeks our blog posts will be revolving around safety. We will be touching base and expanding on outdoor safety, pool safety, beach safety, and home safety. Keep an eye out for these blogs for tips and advice on safety.