Arghh!! My five year old with PDD-NOS is driving me crazy!!

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My son has started running out of the house - he is tall enough to be able to reach the latch that acts as a secondary barrier to his going outside the front door. There are really no other options to make the door more secure. He doesn't do this often, but he will once in a while. He appears to want to have me chase him. I need to get him back into the house because our front area goes directly to the sidewalk and driveway/parking area of our housing complex. Although the posted speed limit is 9 km per hour and their are signs tellling drivers to watch for playing children - we all know that drivers can be ignorant and my kid would be on the losing end of this collision!!

I am also getting weary of his obsession with long pants and sweaters. Even in Canada - late Spring is here and Summer is a coming. It is getting hot and my son still refuses to wear shorts and/or t-shirts. He will wear a flannel pajama top instead of a sweater. It looks silly - but at least he will not be so sweaty.

Sometimes he can be such a sweet little boy, other times I want to sell him to Gypsies!!

Arghhhhhhhhh!! !!

Any words of consolation or empathy would be most welcome at this point. I'm going to put a beer in the fridge for later and read any comments after it is chilled and I have a chance to enjoy the cold refreshing brewski while reading your stories and comments.

Put a lock at the top of the door or you can buy an inexpensive alarm that glues to the door and frame and goes off when the connection is broken. My daughter went through the clothing issues, for two years she would refuse to wear long sleeves. I bought her some long sleeve shirts with princesses on them thinking this might sway her, but no. I had to cut all the sleeves and sew them into short sleeves. Now she will wear long sleeves if they are cotton and loose but some days she still wants her short sleeves. Its funny because when she was about two she wanted to only wear a long underwear shirt so I though she liked the tightness....now she is the opposite. Im pretty weird about my clothes too so I say just let him wear what he feels comfortable in and try not to stress too much about it. Maybe he will change his mind in a year or so

I'm a little short on useful input or funny stories at the moment, but you have my empathy.

Meanwhile, shall I divert the 1.5 ml estate wine I've got sitting in my house and send it over to you? Or are you strictly a cold beer type of gal?

My son does not have either of those issues, but he doesn't want to give up his tennis shoes for a new pair. They are falling apart!! ! I guess I will have to bribe him with something to get a new pair. I have bought his shoes at garage sales before so that they are more worn in.

So far my son hasn't been much of a runner, but he drives me crazy in other ways! His obsession with Volkswagens! His asking questions over and over, his lack of interest in playing with much of anything, etc.......I think what my point is is that all of us have our own battles to fight, and whatever it is, hopefully it will pass. Usually when it does though, something new will take it's place!

You are not alone in your frustrations! Hope you are enjoying your beer!! !

Running. Beeline. Into trouble. Aye yi yi. We've had to try so many things. We got to know the local police real well.

i can commiserate! my NT 6 yr old was an escape artist at 2, so we've had high security devices on our exterior doors for years.

i am a residential manager at an apartment complex. just put in a family with a 2 yr old, and i helped them check to see if he could operate the front door locks. they are too tight for him to turn thankfully.

i would suggest you talk to your complex manager, let them know you have a special needs child and are worried about his safety as he can and does operate the locks. they may be willing to install a non-lock security device for you, or let you install one. something like a security chain or those flip type that you find on hotel doors, up high out of his reach. our complex would either purchase and install one, or install one the tenant provided. they are inexpensive, under $10, and easy to install.

other than that, the only thing i can advise is more beer =P

Our house has these security gates, the front one is always locked. ALWAYS. All the adults have a key on their keyring. Little bro doesn't have access to a key. The back door we let him come and go because there's a brick wall, I think that helps the wanderlust a bit as well.

Someone asked me once what we would do if there was a fire since the door is always locked. My response is that if the house is burning bad enough you need to escape, a busted window isn't the biggest worry.

I have no experience with the running away, but I can imagine how scary and tough that would be!

The long pants and shirts, that one I know well. I had to go through my son's entire wardrobe with him this weekend and make a plan for switching to either t-shirts and long pants or shorts with a long-sleeved shirt. We planned outfits. We discarded anything he considered uncomfortable. We tested different clothes he is unsure of to remind him of how they feel. We went on the weather website and discussed how it will be highs of +27C this week, and talked about how quickly he gets overheated and how ill it makes him feel.

And then this morning he came downstairs in long pants and a long sleeved shirt.

I did eventually talk him into a T-shirt. Tomorrow will probably be another long negotiation. The funny thing is, is that by the time fall/winter rolls around he will be used to light clothing and it will be difficult to transition him back into heavy clothes again. We are in Canada too, so dressing seasonally is not optional, and every season it takes work to get him there.

My son isn't a runner, but I would recommend as another poster did, to put a lock at the top of the door. Chain locks are very inexpensive and easy to install.

As for clothing, definitely let that one go. If the discomfort of being hot exceeds the discomfort of shorts and t-shirts, he'll switch. Until then, I would leave the clothing issue entirely up to him.

One thing you could try - my son was having major issues with shorts, and t-shirts that had tags or appliques that itched him on the inside. We've had great success with Old Navy retro t-shirts because they are thin, soft and almost feel well-worn, are tagless with no appliques, plus Old Navy athletic shorts - I think they are called basketball shorts -much longer than regular shorts (more like pants, but not pants) and they have an elastic drawstring waist so he can make them exactly the right fit. They are also very affordable. Just an idea to check out

I put a simple hook and eye lock on the top of the door. Those alarms that ring when they open the door don't really solve the problem, they just let you know when it's happening. The hook and eye won't solve it, but he'll have to get something to stand on to reach it and that will give you more time to catch him *before* he exits the house. This was something I spanked my son for, not hard, but a good firm swat. We were right on a very busy road and there was no room for error. It didn't make him stop completely but he at least would think twice before running because he knew there'd be a penalty for it.

He did outgrow it, and we did manage to keep him alive long enough to do so.

Idea 1) Get the child proof latches they sell for kitchen drawers (they are STRONG) and put one at the top corner of the door.

idea 2) Look into lightweight sunshield type clothing (I think LLBean may carry some for kids). It is cool on the skin, long in the leg/arm, and as an added bonus contains sunblock.

I'm sorry I can't help more. Maybe some other people are more familiar with this type of stuff.

good luck