Topics > Elopement (Running Away)

Understanding

Elopement behavior can serve a number of purposes depending on the child and the environment.  While in a store a child may elope in one situation to gain access to toy and in another to receive attention from a caregiver.  Without a thorough functional analysis, it is impossible to determine why your child elopes.  Without addressing the function, you will not be able to determine what skill is needed to successfully replace the problematic behavior.  For example, does the child need to learn how to ask for a “break,” to learn to “wait,” or both? 

Start recording each incident of the behavior.  What happened before the behavior?  What did the elopement behavior look like?  What happened immediately after the behavior occured?  Then learn about the available treatment options for elopement.