How do WE prepare??

It's natural to want to protect any child . It seems to me that most parents and caregivers of Autistic children are even more aware and concerned about this subject. Not just because of the disorder but the nature of Autism makes the caregiver anticipate situations that a typical person may be able to process and handle whereas an Autistic one would not.

Now I can list  hundereds of scenarios but the one that is on the top of my list right now is how to inform or train for unforseen situations. We work and work on sameness and routine and typical everyday occurances but what IF?????

Just picture in your mind your are home in the morning and your spouse has already gone to work. You and your child are home alone . The child is still asleep as you prepare to start the morning; you walk out to the garage to take out a bag of trash or to put a few clothes in the wash and you trip hit yout head and you are unconscience.

Your child wakes up only to see Mommy laying on the floor knocked out. How will that child react. Now some of our kids would be keenly aware and would call for help or react approprioately. Many would not.

What steps can be taken to try to at least plan for something you hope will never happen? Of course there are Social Stories and the constant lament to them about dialing 911 in an emergency but how do we know they will?
Guess the answer is; we dont. But dont you think that its better to think about it now and put something in place rather than scoff it off and hope it never happens? The simple fact is WE DONT KNOW - anyone of us could step off a curb and get hit today-- We JUST DONT KNOW!I have been hearlded as the "Queen of Procrastination" But in this instance I feel I owe Dakota some kind of plan Its time for me to buckle down and find some solutions.

You know its not just someone passing out or the child finding themsleves alone,  there could be a fire or an earthquake, they could come and evacuate the neighborhood, Who knows???. I dont think any of us talk enough to our kids about it . We have so many other things to deal with; its just easier to set that one to the side and say - OH someday--

Its also another step towards some independent living skill. How can you ever allow your child the ability to stay at home even for short periods of time if you dont have a plan for these emergencies. I dont think many of us ever think our kids will be alone much but even the smallest amout of time is healthy for them and a step towards some kind of independence down the road.

I do use some construction paper and drawings or clippings from magazines to help with some situations in the house -- for instance instructions for showering-- although he does not seem to follow them very closely, he is aware its there and we read it occassionally. Something similar with instructions for calling for help could be possible and I have thought a lot about something like a "life alert" signaling device similar to what some seniors have ---

I know I certainly dont have all the answers and only a few ideas but I know that its another chapter that needs to be concluded.
So, I put the questions out to all of you and hope I might get some answers;
"How do we prepare?"