Wandering and elopement can be a common safety concern for many parents, especially those with autistic children. So it's one of those important topics to not only prepare yourself for, but your child for.
Thankfully, that's where these free social stories about running away, elopement, and getting lost come in handy.
These social stories can be a great way to introduce the topic of safety to your child, go over strategies for if they get lost, and why it's important not to run in places such as parking lots or into the streets.
So, if your child needs a bit of support in this area, look no further than these printable and video social stories.
Free Social Stories About Running Away, Elopement, & Getting Lost
Have you been looking for a social story about elopement, wandering, or getting lost? Then look no further than these free printable social stories. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.
I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best elopement related social story for yourself and your child. Or you can simply use ideas from different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).
Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them.
1. 2 Free Social Stories About Running Off from Happy Learners - Here are two short text-only social stories about running off. No pictures are included with these stories.
2. What to Do if You Get Lost Social Story from Ice Cream Social on TPT - This social story is more of a visual aid than anything. It lists 5 things to do when you get lost. I like that it's geared towards AAC users in particular.
3. Running Away is Not OK: A Social Story on Elopement from Helene Cooney on TPT - An 8 page social story that talks about the dangers of elopement. It includes lots of colorful clipart. It is also worth mentioning that it does use a fancy font for the text, which might not be ideal for your child.
4. Free Holding Hands (Elopement) Social Story from Autism Little Learners - This story focuses more on holding hands than on getting lost or running away. But it's still a very useful story for teaching kids about elopement. It uses colorful clipart and simple text. You'll have to scroll down in the list to find it.
5. Elopement Social Story: Going to the Store with Mom from Nicole Dobbins on TPT - As you can tell from the title, this story focuses on elopement at a store. It uses colorful clipart with Black characters (yay representation!) and looks almost more like a comic book.
6. Free Social Story: Staying in Class from Rivers of Learning on TPT - This story uses colorful clipart and simple text and looks like it might be a good one, especially if you have a child or student who frequently elopes from the classroom.
7. When I Get Lost Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - This story is pretty simple and includes three full color photos.
8. It's Not Safe to Run Away from Mom & Dad Social Story from Social Stories: Power Tool for Autism - A super simple story about why it isn't safe to run away. It's primarily text based, but it does include only one clipart image.
9. Free Social Story for Running Away at School (Editable) from Good Human Project on TPT - Here's a one page social story that is editable, which is nice. However, I personally find the story a bit busy with all of the random clipart along the sides and the giant wall of text.
10. Free I Stay in My Class Social Story from Jackie Juarez on TPT - This social story focuses on the school classroom in particular and why you should stay in your class. It includes simple clipart.
11. Free Social Story on Getting Lost from Stacey Taylor on TPT - This story teaches kids what to do if they get lost and features simple clipart and symbols to accompany the text. Personally, I find the format of this one a bit busy.
12. Running Away is Not Safe Social Story from Boardmaker - Here's a simple story about why running away is not safe. It uses Boardmaker symbols and is pretty simplistic.
13. Free Social Story About Chase/Running from Heather Heffernan on TPT - If your child likes to play games of chase, then this story might be a good fit. It talks about not running out of the classroom or building and uses a mix of clipart and photos.
14. I Can Be Safe When Going Outside Social Story from Jen Hackett on TPT - Here's a story that talks about elopement and being safe when going outside. It uses simple clipart and symbols throughout. It might also be editable since it comes as a Word document.
15. Running Away is Not Safe Social Story from Busy Bee Behavior Classroom on TPT - This story teaches students that running away is not safe. It uses simple text and clipart.
16. It's Okay to Stay Social Story from Angela Stone on TPT - I can't see much about this particular story, but its focus is encouraging students not to run away. It might also be editable as it does come as a PowerPoint.
17. Tips to Prevent Elopement Social Story from Autism Behavior Services - This social story is written more like a traditional story about an elephant. It uses lots of colorful clipart and offers lots of practical suggestions to help with eloping. You'll have to scroll down the page until you find it.
Video Social Stories About Running Away
Here are some video social stories and songs that talk about elopement, running away, and staying safe. You can use these in teletherapy sessions, social skills groups, at home, and/or classroom settings. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.
Like the stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for helping your child understand why it's important not to run off.
I think we can both agree that keeping your child safe is super important. Hopefully, these free social stories about running away will be helpful in keeping your child safe.
