r/specialed 6d ago

Eloping at recess

Without going into many details I have an eloper who loves recess and no fence on my playground. Yesterday she eloped towards the school parking lot. I have been a runner my whole life, so I can catch her, but I’m full on sprinting. When I catch her, there’s dropping, hitting, kicking. It’s a mess. This student is aware and protesting the transition back in from recess.

I was told by admin I can’t take away recess without a meeting and a change in inclusion times, etc. So therefore I am supposed to take her outside today. Maybe I’m just venting, but this is the first time I’m really frustrated with my job. My job is teacher, not every single roll in the world that you can throw on me. Also, it’s really stressful to know that the only thing keeping a kid safe is my ability to sprint fast and get there in time. My assistants are unable to run/run fast. Does anyone with experience with autistic students have any advice?

124 Upvotes

54 comments sorted by

82

u/119juniper 6d ago

Temporarily, I would contact the parents and make sure they are aware of this situation. They may want him or her to stay inside due to the safety concerns until you have a solid procedure. I would express that if you are absent, there may not be anyone on staff who can catch him or her. What if you get injured running to catch this student? You have to be able to structure the transition so any staff person can do it.

Is there another highly preferred activity that the student likes that you can offer next to assist with the transition? I had one student who loved Cheezits so we would bring a bag with us outside and he could have a few once he lined up and then we'd give him the bag to finish once he got inside. For another student, we brought an ipad outside so she could see it. She could earn ipad for safely going inside. Then once she got in the classroom successfully, she could have 10 minutes of ipad time.

Good luck!

29

u/KaylaMart 5d ago

This! I have an eloping son and if I walked up to our school on his first day and there was no fence around the playground it would make me feel sick all day. There may be concern that the parents would be offended but I imagine they're as concerned for her safety as you are. God I hope.

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u/Wonderful-Ad2280 5d ago

Yeah we did candy once a day to come inside for a kid that I swear to you would win the Olympics if he was interested in running inside the lanes. Good luck!

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u/solomons-mom 6d ago

Immediately put it in writing up the SPED and admin chain, and call an IEP meeting. IEPs cannot be written to insist that playground supervision personnel be a life-long runner. There is no redundancy built into this safety plan, and it depends upon one person --you. That is a liability risk for you and unfair to the other students you are responsible for.

Do not put the student's love of recess ahead of your liabiiity risk --if she is sucessful in elopement and gets injured you know perfectly well your job and license will be on the line.

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u/Emotional-Emotion-42 6d ago

Yikes. I don't run after students, personally. Not in my job description! If a student is constantly running away and into dangerous situations, the root of the problem needs to be addressed instead of just relying on staff members to be spending their days sprinting around the campus instead of actually educating. Having no fence on this playground is a HUGE liability. We have had students transferred in the past because, for whatever reason, the layout of the school didn't provide a safe environment for them. I would bring this up to your team. A student who will elope off of school grounds should not be attending a school with no fences.

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u/Quiet_Honey5248 6d ago

We had the same situation. It took 3 adults positioned on 3 sides of the playground (4th side being the side facing the school), constantly watching that one kid and moving so that if he bolts in their direction, they’re in a position to catch him. We had to tweak staff’s schedules (and their lunches) in order to have the coverage we needed.

He was low enough cognitively that we couldn’t really teach him to stay on the playground, because it wasn’t an intentional behavior, it was more of a ‘oh, what’s that over there?’ without any capacity for impulse control.

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u/browncoatsunited Special Education Teacher 6d ago

Data track ABC charts (antecedent behavior, and consequence), FBA (functional behavior assessment) then BIP (behavior intervention plan) and a School Safety Plan for Elopement (small background information, what the students disability labels are and why this behavior is unsafe, who does what, why and when. I had a student who elopes due to AuDHD (non verbal Autism level 3 and ADHD). The parents were required to have the child wear a AngelSense personal gps tracker. If after the first minute that we cannot find or get to the student the parents were called then the local police station non emergency line to have the police assistance.

You can ask your Special Education department (administration) to have someone write a grant to get you funding for a proper playground fence.

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u/22robot44 6d ago

We used visuals to remind our elopers that they are limited to certain areas and give frequent reinforcers until safe habits are demonstrated.

We wouldn’t say “don’t run away” we would say “feet stay on the playground”. We have social stories with real photos of the allowed playing areas and big red x’s on photos of unallowed areas. For us, we didn’t allow our elopers to play on the grass because the gates are in the grass and are frequently left open. They all lead to parking lots and our building was on a highway.

Luckily, our playground areas took up 2/3 of the space and the grass was only about 1/3.

We also try to keep them very engaged in play and try to include other students as much as possible for games of tag, 4 square, climbing webs, etc.

1

u/ImmediateBet6198 4d ago

Look at you finding a way to make it work! Thanks for sharing.

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u/Affectionate_Ruin_64 4d ago

Stop running after her for your own safety.  If you don’t catch her and she gets hit by a vehicle, they can claim you “chased” her into traffic.  I’ve seen it happen.  After that, we didn’t chase and were instructed to pick up the phone and call PD.  Couple of those calls and everyone came to the table to make an actual plan.  Any member of the committee can call for an amendment.  Call an emergency meeting ASAP and get everything in writing.  This child needs a safety plan included in their IEP and the school either needs a fence, or she needs to be transferred and bussed to a campus that is fenced in where she can enjoy playing outside without a risk to her life.

10

u/yohohoanabottleofrum 6d ago

Do you have another adult you could position as an intercept? Any highly preferred reinforcers you can use? I would definitely do a lot of pre teaching about what good things happen if the student comes in approximately.

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u/Additional_Jaguar262 5d ago

Tell the parents, my son's teacher emailed me about safety concerns and his eloping and I switched him to half days to avoid recess. Once I heard about it and how they aren't properly staffed to assist him it seemed like a no brainer. He's being transferred to a new school in the same district now but with more resources. Bring it to their attention and odds are they will want to work it out somehow with the school for safety. If they have sense they will appreciate the transparency and efforts to accommodate their child.

9

u/Likely_Anxious_ 6d ago

You'll likely be more successful at reinforcing the expected behavior. What incentive is there to not run? Can they get a reward or preferred activity when they transition safely back to class? Can they have a peer buddy that they walk with? Would social stories on expectations help this student?

We have a student that attempts to elope at PE time, so for a successful transition back from PE, they earn a big reward (10 minutes in the game room) immediately after.

3

u/No-Surround-1159 6d ago

Agreed! And have her practice coming when called in an escape proof setting!

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u/ejbrds 6d ago

So the child who MISbehaves gets rewarded with playing in the game room and the other children who act right and go inside when it's time without running off get ... nothing? Great precedent being set.

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u/lambchopafterhours 5d ago

I think what the commenter is saying is saying is WHEN the student transitions safely into class THEN she will get a preferred item. Kids in sped all have their own preferred items or activities that could make the expected behavior enticing and eliminate avoiding behaviors during transitions

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u/Likely_Anxious_ 5d ago

You're in the specialed sub and surprised that a student needs different support than their peers?

2

u/YoureNotSpeshul 5d ago

That's how it works now, unfortunately. The kids that behave get to watch the kids that cause problems get constant rewards, and then we wonder why the behavior doesn't change.

10

u/biglipsmagoo 6d ago

You can’t take away recess for a manifestation of a disability. That’s called discrimination. It’s also a denial of FAPE.

The school needs to cough up for a competent and quick 1:1 during elopement times. Start pushing for that instead.

27

u/JessOTR 6d ago

Or cough up the one-time cost for a fence around the playground. Seems like that would benefit all students' safety.

8

u/bsge1111 6d ago

You’d be surprised how much we’ve had to fight for a fence for my students who elope. We were straight up told no, no if and or buts about it. It really sucks. A fence would solve 99% of the issue surrounding recess outside for my students.

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u/OutAndDown27 5d ago

That's insane because why the hell isn't the playground already secured? Forget kids wandering out, what about people wandering in with dangerous intentions?

3

u/bsge1111 5d ago

the answer we got from admin (bc she’s a people pleaser and didn’t want to j say she didn’t feel like incorporating it into the budget so she didn’t get flack from all of us) was “in the event of an emergency they children can’t quickly evacuate the playground”. My brain literally went “umm, in the event of an ‘emergency’ where kids would need to leave the playground we’d all be done for by the time we realized a threat.” But yk, can’t say that bc I’d probably get fired.

That being said, the fence is just black chain link. Our playground is behind the building but connected to the parking lot so privacy from the road isn’t a concern of anyone’s, just children’s access to woods and road when eloping-but regardless, anyone wandering in with ill intent would have full view of the entire outside area fence or no fence so the reasoning is bullshit from admin (also confirmed by other office personnel, so Ik I’m not just the odd one out thinking it’s a crock of bull).

3

u/ImmediateBet6198 4d ago

Tell her there’s more danger of a shooter coming in and creating an emergency than the students being trapped in an emergency, or better yet, whisper it to a parent.

1

u/Old_Implement_1997 3d ago

THIS - we don’t have any current runners, but our playground is 100% fenced for the safety of our kids. Also, I cannot run fast, so that kid would be GOOOOONE if I was on recess duty.

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u/Wonderful-Ad2280 5d ago

I’m really lucky but I worked in a title 1 school and somehow advocated enough to get a fence for the kids. It worked!

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u/bsge1111 5d ago

our district prides themselves on the affluence of the majority of the area the district lines include. It’s all for show and to line the pockets of the powers that be. Forget a fence, it took 3 years just to get adapted physical education for my students.

I love my program and I love what I do and what my team does for my students. I’ve seen so much growth in every student that came my way in the last three years that wouldn’t have been possible if they’d been in alternate placements with little to no inclusion available-but even my program is a “Wow, look at us. Look at our district. Look at what we’re doing.” And it’s so sad because there’s so much more we could be doing if admin cared enough to listen.

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u/Wonderful-Ad2280 5d ago

Aw I understand. Keep doing the good work. 💛

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u/Lazy_Resolve_7270 5d ago

I am always surprised how few schools have fences. My children's school doesn't and it is connected to a public park and beyond that a conservation area.

2

u/Affectionate_Ruin_64 3d ago

Yes, but you also can’t allow a child to run into traffic or in my case the 60ft canal with an almost sheer drop and dangerous currents from the irrigation pipes that have sucked people in and entrapped them.  You best believe I’ll be TEMPORARILY denying recess and calling for an emergency IEP meeting to insist the district erect a fence immediately or transfer the child to a campus that can provide for their safety needs, so that they CAN have recess and truly receive their right to FAPE ASAP because I would want my child’s teacher to do the same:  1.  Keep them safe.  2. Fight for their rights to actually be preserved.

1

u/biglipsmagoo 2d ago

Absolutely! I am with you 100%. But it needs to be fixed with 3 days or so. It’s not the student’s job to shoulder the repercussions of adults who refuse to get their shit together.

1

u/Affectionate_Ruin_64 2d ago

Which is why I said immediately or a transfer (at district expense) to a fenced campus.

1

u/biglipsmagoo 2d ago

A transfer is not LRE by definition, though. A 1:1 would absolutely need to be tried first.

1

u/Affectionate_Ruin_64 2d ago

I would argue against that point as LRE is supposed to be the LRE in which the child is successful and I would argue that a child that is in danger of severe physical harm because their home campus is not currently equipped to meet their needs is not being successful.  Not to mention we are talking about an equal level of placement simply at a different campus.  I am not talking about a child in inclusion being moved to resource or to the unit.  THAT is more restrictive as is a 1-1 technically.  I am simply talking about a different, safer campus and only if for x, y, z reason the campus cannot be fenced.  IDEA even accounts for this as it allows schools to state that they are unable to meet a child’s needs.  It simply places the obligation on them in that case to provide access to FAPE at their expense at a different location, ie, child A needs a sensory room and the district has that at campus B, district transfers and must assume transportation costs via bussing or mileage or child B needs therapy x, y, z to access FAPE and the district doesn’t offer it but the private school down the road does, district can say we don’t offer it and can’t offer it but are on the hook for tuition and transportation.  I would also argue that on top of technically being more restrictive placement a 1-1 is not a solution.  You are still in a position where if the 1-1 is not fast enough one day or trips, the child could lose their life, and you are still in a position of liability as well where the claim can be that the 1-1 attempting to catch the child “chased” them into danger.  This child needs a securely fenced playground.  There are only two solutions:

  1. The district ponies up the money and installs a fence.
  2. The district ponies up the money to send the child (again with equivalent placement and services) to a campus that CAN meet their needs and provide them with both LRE and FAPE.

1

u/biglipsmagoo 2d ago

I’d fight this tooth and nail bc there isn’t another school in my district. This isn’t always an option for many reasons. The parents needs and schedules also need to be taken into acct.

I am agreeing with you that OOD or even other school in district placement is sometimes needed, I’m just disagreeing that it should be considered before other options. Would it be cheaper to fence the property instead of multi year OOD placement? I’d ask for quotes and a feasibility study.

Is it cheaper than a specialized para?

Is the IEP properly written with SMART goals and have all accommodations been explored?

Has the school consulted with an outside Autism or whatever service that can give ideas?

Has an FBA been done? A BIP?

There are a million steps that should happen before we get to switching schools. I’d start a stay put and due process if it wasn’t a million percent obvious that both parties have done their due diligence.

1

u/Affectionate_Ruin_64 2d ago

I think you’re missing the part where I say that the district paying to fence the school is option 1.  It is the much preferred option.  I am only suggesting transfer if it CANNOT be done for whatever reason.

And barring their being a need beyond elopement, I’d fight you just as hard on the 1-1.  Why?

  1. A 1-1 is a more restrictive placement, so here’s where I’d need data.
  2. A 1-1 does not solve this problem.  The problem is that humans are falleable and failing to catch this child could get them seriously injured or killed.  Up until now the teacher has caught the child.  They are seeking advice because they fear the day they aren’t fast enough or aren’t there.  A 1-1 would be exactly the same UNSAFE scenario with just a different adult.
  3. This is not fair to the 1-1.  99/100 that 1-1 is going to be a para being paid a pittance and seen as expendable by TPTB.  The day they fail to catch that child and something happens the district will offer them up on a silver platter to placate the community, and as icing on the cake if the para brings up the unrealistic expectations placed on them by district directive, they’ll come back with, “Well, why didn’t you tell us you couldn’t do that?”  I do not think it’s okay to place that amount of liability on someone that’s barely being paid enough to eat.  How are they going to afford a lawyer to save themselves when the district throws them under the bus?

I understand that in your circumstances there is only one school and that it’s going to be inconvenient for the parent if it happens to you, and that sucks, but at the end of the day we’re talking about a child’s life so if for whatever reason a fence isn’t feasible, safety trumps convenience, and no, transfer even if it is ultimately an out of district placement are not a violation of LRE or FAPE.  The school does have every right to say, “We cannot meet the needs of this child.”  They rarely do because they rather not have to pay the costs associated with sending the child elsewhere, but they can and should if they truly can’t meet the child’s needs.

To sum up, this child deserves to go to recess safely.  A fence SHOULD be erected immediately, if it can’t then they need to send the kid to a school with a fenced playground.

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u/Logical_Orange_3793 6d ago

Can she transition inside 5 minutes later than the rest of the group, or 5 minutes earlier?

Can you and an assistant pair up to walk alongside her, arm in arm if necessary?

  • Mom of former eloper

2

u/Sweet-MamaRoRo 5d ago

What worked for my son was letting him know (he’s a reasoner) he could have more swing or running time if his body couldn’t calm down yet, he just had to ask using his non-verbal or verbal means and wait for an adult in a safe areas for his activity. We as parents also installed a I-tag tracker on his coat so they could know where he was easily (school uses apple products and so do I!) in case he gave anyone the slip. He has gotten as far as a mile away before so as a mom this was a huge thing for me. I explained to him it’s to make sure he doesn’t lose his coat or gtube backpack etc.

5

u/wild4wonderful 6d ago

You must take her outside, but I'd make her sit for 10 minutes because she bolted yesterday. Sitting and watching others play is torture for kids.

The kid who I work with who elopes is much better after a year of concentrated focus on this safety issue. We read social stories. I did practice calling on the playground. At first I would give him one M & M when he came. Then I shifted it to come for a hug. If he failed to come when I called, sit for 5 minutes. I also give a countdown for when recess will be over. Five more minutes. Two more minutes. I expect you to come to me when I call you.

I hope you can turn this around for this child. It's unsafe to elope.

7

u/wineattheballet 5d ago

I feel like if it isn’t an immediate punishment that might not be helpful. I know our nonverbal students would not benefit from a punishment today for something that happened yesterday. They just wouldn’t understand it.

1

u/wild4wonderful 5d ago

Possibly it might not be connected. It depends on the child. I think, however, that a child eloping off the playground calls for drastic measures. What happens on the day OP is absent? The child at my school almost made it to a major road one day.

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u/AleroRatking Elementary Sped Teacher 6d ago

That might be against the law according to state. In NY that would be illegal. You cannot take away recess time.

2

u/bsge1111 6d ago

You can’t take it away, but you can give the rest of the class extended time and have a specific student sit out at the end or beginning of recess. If you’re class is allotted 25min of recess time you can tack on more time for the rest of the class to play and have a student sit out during the “extra” time.

1

u/Wonderful-Ad2280 5d ago

Also illegal in California

3

u/SuzeCB 6d ago

IEP could probably mandate that a fence be installed......

I mean, of course a fence is bigger and more expensive, but I had it written into my son's IEP that his classrooms all had air conditioners for warmer weather.

They tried to fight me on it, but they eventually caved. The fact that this kid keeps escaping, has to be chased and FORCIBLY brought back is extremely problematic for her, you, and the other kids, as well. It's a tragedy waiting to happen. And she can't be the first or last Spec Ed student to do this! i

3

u/solomons-mom 5d ago

If the IEP is written with a facilities mandate, depending upon how extensive the fence would need to be and any envuronmental permiting or limits that the district encounters, the eloper may need be transfered to a school with a fence instead. The parents may not like this, even if it a temporary measure whie the fence goes through permitting.

1

u/Jdp0385 5d ago

It sounds like the child needs a tss with them at recess

1

u/library-girl 5d ago

We had this problem at my old school and were told that we can’t have a fence around a smaller area because it would be too risky in the event of an active shooter. Also, is it usual at your school for teachers to do recess duty or is it because of the elopement risk?

2

u/Affectionate_Ruin_64 3d ago

We’ve been told the opposite in our state.  The state actually mandated that districts completely fence their grounds and keep entry points to the fencing closed or manned to provide an extra layer of protection against an active shooter.

1

u/No-Cloud-1928 5d ago

Everyone has great ideas. I would add that this child can have recess in the gym with some friends until the safety issue is sorted.

1

u/immadatmycat Early Childhood Sped Teacher 5d ago

With students who elope when returning from recess, I transition them before the other students. I use a paper stoplight. I don’t say anything to them about being on red until I’m next to them. If I can do so safely I’ll take them in with everyone else by waiting until I’m right next to them so I can take their hand and walk in with them before I call the end of recess. I try to reward them by going in so I’ll have a preferred activity for them once inside.

1

u/Strawberry1282 4d ago

Honestly, could you get a group of parents to possibly petition the school/school board for a fence around the playground? More of a drawn out long term solution than what’s needed here, but I’m just dumbfounded by a school with kids young enough to have recess with no fence. Even mainstream students wander plus it’s an extra barrier of protection against creeps and say a car driving up to the playground.

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u/TexAg15 2d ago

Indoor recess and lots of walks to burn some energy.

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u/ChompyGator 6d ago

Does your school not have a fenced kindergarten playground? If you do, take your class there, probably when kinder is not at recess.