ESCAPE Kits for Elopement Prevention in Children With Autism

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)

Status

Completed

Conditions

Child Safety

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Caregiver Stress

Treatments

Behavioral: Elopement Prevention Kits

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT07225907

Pro00108386

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will evaluate elopement prevention kits for children with autism spectrum disorder who exhibit elopement behavior such as dashing or wandering away from safe settings. Caregivers will be asked to rate how useful individual kit items are at reducing elopement, and to provide feedback about how ESCAPE kits affect their stress levels and ability to engage meaningfully in community settings. This study will also investigate how useful kit items are for various age groups in childhood and adolescence. Information will be used to guide development of a larger elopement prevention program.

Full description

open-label feasibility study evaluates the ESCAPE elopement prevention kits for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Kits include safety tools and visual aids intended to reduce elopement behavior. Caregivers assess the usefulness of each item and report on continued use, stress levels, and perceived impact on elopement behavior. Data will inform future large-scale studies.

Enrollment

65 patients

Sex

All

Ages

4 to 11 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Caregivers of children ages 4-11 years old with a formal diagnosis of ASD (per caregiver report) who have contacted the study team expressing concerns regarding elopement behavior.

Exclusion criteria

Participant doesn't live with the child.
Only one child under the participant's care can receive the kit.
Participant doesn't confirm their name, mailing address, and preferred email for kit delivery and post-intervention survey reception.