title: Occurrence and family impact of elopement in children with autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anecdotal reports suggest that elopement behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) increases risk of injury or death and places a major burden on families. This study assessed parent-reported elopement occurrence and associated factors among children with ASDs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on elopement frequency, associated characteristics, and consequences was collected via an online questionnaire. The study sample included 1218 children with ASD and 1076 of their siblings without ASD. The association among family sociodemographic and child clinical characteristics and time to first elopement was estimated by using a Cox proportional hazards model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-nine percent (n = 598) of survey respondents reported their child with an ASD had attempted to elope at least once after age 4 years; 26% (n = 316) were missing long enough to cause concern. Of those who went missing, 24% were in danger of drowning and 65% were in danger of traffic injury. Elopement risk was associated with autism severity, increasing, on average, 9% for every 10-point increase in Social Responsiveness Scale T score (relative risk 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.16). Unaffected siblings had significantly lower rates of elopement across all ages compared with children with ASD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nearly half of children with ASD were reported to engage in elopement behavior, with a substantial number at risk for bodily harm. These results highlight the urgent need to develop interventions to reduce the risk of elopement, to support families coping with this issue, and to train child care professionals, educators, and first responders who are often involved when elopements occur.
authors.affiliation: Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21211, USA.
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: J Kiely
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Mandell
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hagopian
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Law
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055816:Wandering Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*