Emphasizing DANGER to Autism-?

My son is now 3 and was diagnosed with with some autistic like signs, but not enough for him to 100% autistic. My son has a speech delay; saying about 30 words; mainly if i ask him to.

Anyways, with that in mind, we were at the park today which is adjacent to heavy traffic. He went around the fence, and after i said no and counted to three. He took off. My 230 pound self came barreling(sprinting) after his little arse. (I have a 16 month old and she's still trying to learn how to walk.)

He has no meaning of danger whatsoever. I have no idea what to do, to make him understand. He seems to have some understanding problems sometimes. Figuratively speaking, i'm at my wits end. I don't know how to stress upon him how dangerous roads are.. that even strangers are something that could be dangerous... you know? Repetitive.. i mean.. who wants to teach him continuously not to go near a road constantly? It's only an accident waiting to happen.

I don't know. What would you do?

My 3 year old is exactly like this....hasn't been diagnosed with autism but he is on an 18-24 month level. The only thing you can do is repeat it over and over, like you said, and just make sure he doesn't have access to that area, even if it means following him around the park.

It was one of the reasons why i avoid that park that we went to. It's just easier to get to when you park the car   I know of another park to avoid going towards traffic (long walk, but not an issue), but that wouldn't really be teaching him that NO=DANGER.

PS: yeah, i think my son was around the 18-24month level as well.

My daughter is 3 and is autistic, and I really don't know. It's really difficult to get her to understand concepts like that. If I say "No, ma'am!" loudly, she knows to stop and *usually* listens. But I haven't figured out how to get her to realize that certain things are dangerous, and not to touch them/run towards them specifically. I just keep repeating, and try to prevent her from being near those things/areas.

Quoting Constant Exhaustion:" It was one of the reasons why i avoid that park that we went to. It's just easier to get to when you ... [snip!] ... but that wouldn't really be teaching him that NO=DANGER. PS: yeah, i think my son was around the 18-24month level as well. "

Unfortunately there's no way to "make" him understand when his mind is that young. If you keep telling him no and explaining why, it will sink in but how much time that takes, there's no way to tell. He might understand tomorrow, he might not a year from now. Autism and special needs are tricky. It's definitely a challenge.

i don't have a child with special needs, but... i have worked with some before (not necessarily autistic). it seems like short commands or statements work best. like, "not safe!" or "not nice!" idk if this helps at all.

Yeah, we have a pamphlet/book from our Speech Therapist when he had one(before he was three). One of them shows a pan with fire underneath it, representing the stove and that it's hot. We tap the picture, and say "hot!" Repetitively doing this every week, when he comes near me and the stove, he reaches out and says "hot?". I say "Yes hot, don't touch" Wonder if there is a picture i can find and add it to the book about roads and danger.

Quoting Constant Exhaustion:" Yeah, we have a pamphlet/book from our Speech Therapist when he had one(before he was three). One of ... [snip!] ... "hot?". I say "Yes hot, don't touch" Wonder if there is a picture i can find and add it to the book about roads and danger."

maybe even something you could print out from online. and point to it and say "not safe!" and shake your head while saying it.

Exactly what i was thinking!

i'm not sure if he responds better to actual pictures of real people or cartoon-y types, but.... maybe something like this?

honestly, aside from the speech delay, he sounds like a 3 year old.

my 5yo is still hit and miss, but it is slightly better than it was like a year ago. He no longer just takes off, but if we are waiting to cross the street we need to have a firm hold on him as most times he cannot control those impulses. Just keep repeating it and explaining mama, he is still young and at some point in the future it will click, it may just take a little longer   (((hugs)))

Quoting Devil Duckie:" honestly, aside from the speech delay, he sounds like a 3 year old. "

I found the 3s to be the WORST!!