Running danerously

[Guest guest]

I fully agree with the last post about walking and rewarding with candy. To be

extra safe in the community use a tether rope and you can practice in parking

lots, holding on to the shopping cart, etc.

For yard safety with those who do not have fences. Purchase a bright colored

clothes line and start with a small square in the front yard or across the

driveway. Write a social story and explain, the child cannot exit the rope, or

model the behavior for them. Do something highly reinforcing inside the roped

area and keep rewarding for staying in the rope. If the child exits the rope,

NEVER LAUGH AND CHASE. Be firm and get hold of them and continually point to the

other side of the rope and have the child go back inside the rope. You must be

ready to catch them, and keep the demand on. If you are playing with a ball, let

the ball go and insist the child stops. You then model that the adult must get

the ball. If the activity is highly reinforcing you can also write the story

with the consequence. 1-2-3- times you exit the rope, you must go inside.

Because this is a safety concern, the more practice the better. Wait a few hours

and try again.

As the last post reflected, this must be done over and over without fail, to

reshape the reputation on the behavior. Always be safe rather than sorry. I

also suggest, having two adults to insist on the safety.If the child loves

Target, but always runs to the door, put the tether rope on before you exit the

vehicle and write the social story with the expectation that " if you run away,

you will not go into Target " and read it just prior to leaving the car. If the

child runs, be prepared NOT to go into Target, but plan on attempting this

intervention 3x's in one day. At Dr. Carbone's clinic they practice problem

behaviors 10 minutes per hour. If the problem is remaining but the MO is high

enough, you can change the reputation of the behavior if consistent and

vigilant. Hope this is of some help.