" My 6 year old son (high functioning) recently ran away from home. He made it about 1/3 of a mile down our street and was found standing next to the lake near our home. When I tried to explain the dangers of his running away, focusing mainly on stranger safety, he brushed aside my warnings. He is convinced that he doesn't have to worry about anyone trying to take him or hurt him because he is a "tough guy" and can take care of himself. Do you have any ideas on how I can present this very difficult issue to him in a manner that he will accept or understand? I would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide." H. T. G.

Answer: Dr. Pam DiLavore, Lead Psychoeducational Therapist, Raleigh TEACCH Center

This is a tough issue. Safety concerns are hard to explain because they're fairly abstract. We hope that the danger will never be experienced by our children and friends with autism, but it may be hard for them to imagine or anticipate dangers they have never experienced or witnessed first hand.

I would recommend using a combination of stories to help explain the situation to your child. There are published picture books for young children that explain safety rules, usually by telling a story about a child. You should be able to find some of these at a local bookstore or on line.

In addition to generic stories like these, you might want to write some social stories specifically for your son. Social stories are written from the child's perspective. They set up the situation, then outline the rules and/or strategies that the child should follow in that situation. Social stories should be simple, direct and to the point. You and your child could read the social story several times up front then pull it out to read it again whenever the topic arises. The social story concept was developed by Carol Gray, and her books are excellent resources for directions for writing and using social stories.

Site Links:
Make-A-Schedule subscription to write your own stories (see Help in the demo for examples of social stories)

Carol Gray's "The New Social Story Book"
General Safety web sites on biking, playground, sledding and street safety