A Randomized Trial of Caregiver-Mediated Function-Based Elopement Treatment for Autistic Children

Elopement is a common and dangerous behavior among autistic children. Behavioral treatments can reduce elopement, but most evidence comes from small-N evaluations in specialized settings with strategies varying across studies. The current study compared the efficacy of the caregiver-mediated function-based elopement treatment to parent education program (PEP) in a 16-week randomized clinical trial of 76 autistic children (age = 4–12 years). Function-based elopement treatment involves 12 weekly appointments aimed at improving safety, identifying the function of elopement, and implementing subsequent function-based treatment strategies. No group differences were observed on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Hyperactivity (primary outcome). Significant improvement from baseline to endpoint in function-based elopement treatment compared to parent education program participants was observed for secondary outcomes, including caregiver ratings of safety measures ( p < 0.01), severity of elopement based on the Elopement Questionnaire ( p < 0.01), and caregiver-collected data on elopement ( p < 0.01). The Clinical Global Impression–Improvement Scale (CGI-I) rated by a treatment-blind evaluator found 31.6% of function-based elopement treatment participants improved compared to 2.6% in parent education program ( p = 0.001). Improvements were maintained at a 28-week follow-up. Attrition was 5.26%, and no significant adverse events were deemed related to treatment. Function-based elopement treatment was superior to parent education program on elopement-specific outcomes and appears safe and acceptable. Lay Abstract Many autistic children exhibit wandering or running away from supervision (i.e. elopement), which can include leaving the house in the middle of the night or getting lost from a parent in a crowded location. Elopement can result in injury when the child is not supervised and is incredibly stressful for parents. Research suggests that behavioral intervention can help with elopement. However, most studies include only a few children. In addition, treatment strategies differ across studies, making it difficult to compare outcomes. The function-based elopement treatment has compiled strategies across different studies to build a 12-session treatment manual that can be followed by clinicians. The manual guides the therapist on the delivery of parent-training strategies to improve the child’s safety and reduce elopement. We compared function-based elopement treatment to a control condition where parents met weekly with a clinician for more general parent training. Children whose parents received function-based elopement treatment showed greater improvement in elopement than children whose parents received more general parent education. This result suggests that the treatment works. Further study is needed to move function-based elopement treatment into clinical practice.