A Safe-Word Intervention for Abduction Prevention in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Most abduction-prevention strategies focus on teaching children safe responses to lures from strangers; however, statistics suggest that the majority of nonfamily abductions are conducted by people who are, to some extent, familiar to the child. We evaluated the effects of a safe-word intervention to address this discrepancy and decrease the likelihood that a child will leave with a person not appointed by his or her parents, regardless of whether the person is familiar or unfamiliar to the child. Five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, aged 4-9 years old, were taught a 4-part response to lures from familiar and unfamiliar adults using a behavioral skills training package with in situ training added as needed. All participants met initial mastery criteria, with 4 of the 5 children requiring the addition of in situ training, and all maintained mastery levels at a 2-month follow-up.