Navigating Elopement and Wandering: Effective Protocols and Organizational Strategies matters because it changes what a BCBA notices when decisions have to hold up in community routines and natural environments. In Navigating Elopement and Wandering: Effective Protocols and Organizational Strategies, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer roles, fewer duplicated efforts, and better coordinated intervention, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Colorado Association for Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →Elopement and wandering behaviors present significant safety risks and challenges for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Nearly every family we serve has a distressing story or a close call related to their child wandering or eloping. This issue is critically important as it occurs within our neighborhoods, directly affecting the communities we serve. Despite its alarming nature, it often gets overlooked during assessment and treatment planning, which should not be the case. First, we will review the evolution of understanding and treating elopement/wandering behaviors within the field of ABA, highlighting key studies and theoretical advancements. This section will provide a comprehensive overview of the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences associated with elopement/wandering, as well as define elopement/wandering in a way that level sets participants and helps us highlight the areas of need. Next, we will introduce a structured protocol designed to prevent elopement/wandering focused on transitions. This protocol includes individualized strategies tailored to the needs of each client, as well as a center-wide training program for staff. We will discuss family guidance techniques that empower caregivers to manage and mitigate elopement/wandering behaviors effectively, partnering with clinicians as teammates. Practical examples and case studies will illustrate the implementation and outcomes of these interventions. Finally, we will address the scalability of these protocols and their application at an organizational level. This section will cover strategies for integrating elopement/wandering prevention measures into broader organizational policies, procedures, and training programs. We will also explore the potential for collaboration with community resources and stakeholders to enhance the support network for individuals at risk of elopement/wandering. By the end of this presentation, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the behavior analytic treatment of elopement/wandering behaviors and acquire practical tools for implementing and scaling these interventions within their own practice or organization. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the history surrounding elopement/wandering behaviors, the severity of the need to support these behaviors, and the application of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in addressing these behaviors.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | General |
| COA | 1.5 | — |
Alexandra is a dedicated professional with a passion for child and youth development with over 15 years of experience in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). She has worked with small and large organizations and currently works to elevate standards of care and create pathways to clinical supports. In addition to her clinical work, Alexandra contributed significantly to the governance of a local K-12 charter school, serving on the board as secretary for 4 years. She has participated in the development of or directly authored published works in the topic areas of public policy, advocacy, treatment quality, school services, ethics, and artificial intelligence. In 2024, Alexandra was elected to a term on the COABA board and served for 2 years as the Chair of the Professional Development Committee. Post her board service, she continues to serve COABA as the Conference Coordinator, leading all aspects of the COABA annual state conference. She also supports public policy initiatives in the state through the public policy committee and was part of the COABA public policy team that won the Autism Law Summit award for excellence in advocacy in 2023.Currently, Alexandra serves as the Director of Clinical Standards for BlueSprig. In this role, she collaborates across departments to establish clinical standards and operating procedures, ensuring that the organization delivers the highest quality clinical services to their clients and families. She coordinates all the clinical committees (Grand Rounds, Safeguarding, Ethics, Advocacy, and Research), ensuring there are multiple psychologically safe pathways for support to any and all clinical needs and supports measurement and reporting on clinical outcomes. Alexandra also serves on many CASP SIGs and SAGs (including co-leading the AI Workgroup and Ethics SIG), and serves as a public policy SME for APBA. She also holds the credential of Lean Six Sigma – White Belt, earned in October 2025, and an AI in Healthcare Certificate from Stanford Online, earned in January 2026, further demonstrating her commitment to process improvement and operational excellence.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
256 research articles with practitioner takeaways
You earn CEUs from a dozen different places. Upload any certificate — from here, your employer, conferences, wherever — and always know exactly where you stand. Learning, Ethics, Supervision, all handled.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.