I need collective mumsnet creativity and solutions to a soon to be a potentially very big problem....

[yurt1]

DS1 has had a compulsion to look over fences for a few years now. As he gets taller (he's 9) he can look over bigger fences.

If you look at my profile you will see a photo taken of him today - he can get his knee higher than shown in the photo so he can get practically over the fence.

The problem is that the roofs of the houses behind that fence are level with it. In other words there's a very big drop behind there. He's severely autistic (non verbal) with absolutely no sense of danger. In between doing this today he's been jumping from bannister to bannister 3 storeys up. (am I spelling storey right?)

So any ideas of what I can do? The fences are at their legal maximum height. Removing the chair just leads to him shifting the trampoline or wendy house or anything he can lay his hands on - which is even more dangerous. Or climbing up from the decking. Last year he was satisfied with a periscope, but last year he didn't have the strength to pull himself up - this year it's viewed as a poor alternative.

He can't quite manage it yet, but give him a few weeks and I think he will. And I then dread to think.......

It's a compulsion so very hard to deal with behaviourally. He doesn't have the language for social stories.

Or can you build something safe and tall inside your garden so he can see OVER but not from the fence? Or is the fence the attraction?

You could put up netting angled inward as SL suggested. The kind they use for trampoline cage thingies, then make the angles with that metal tubing? Make it just loose enough so he can peep over (unless you don't want him to peep over) and secure the bottom edge with nails/ heavy-duty staple gun. It depends if he'd hang on it or not how secure it needs to be.

He won't be able to climb over and shouldn't be able pull himself up. Maybe.

Yrut - althought it is a lovely fence and you no doubt don't want to paint it - I do think some anti-climb paint might be the best thing to buy you at least another couple of years. it is incredibly hard to hold on and not slip.

The only other thing I can think of is some kind of painful stuff at the top - glass chips or razor wire

But I suspect that if he gets a strong enough urge to look over the fence, he might end up getting badly hurt

roller barrier?

looks very possible

I googled non climb fencing and it's all lethal spikes and electrified walls but I did find this which, apparently, schools and local authorities use. I imagine it costs a fortune though.

Like this sort of stuff?

yep- same as last year moondog although the periscope saved us (you will notice the design flaw with the decking- although it hasn't been too much of a problem yet)

Or could you build another fence inside your fence that he can look over but that only looks over onto your other fence? And then anti climb stuff on fence #2 and maybe something in between the 2 fences that would interest him enough to stop?

Don't you just hate it when people link faster than you do?

If the trellis bit was angling back in towards your garden at a really sharp (do I mean acute?) angle and if the angle space was filled somehow, he wouldn't be able to use it to pull himself up from.

Just tried to draw what I mean with a capital I and the back-slash key but it's just not happening .

ooh roller barrier does look good.

Really sorry I have to go and do some work for a bit now, thanks for all the ideas- and any more that come in. I knew you'd be a creative bunch!

Yurt,try again.
We wnt through a patch when we thought we were being ignored but it turned out co-ordinator has had a heart attack!
I think membership is fluid.

FFS, once again this is where an SW would come in handy,co-ordinating all this stuff. I work with a boy who sounds similar. SW put a very high fence all around the house/

I talked to a veteran of two independent reviews and four tribunals this week (!) She told me that the Children's Commission and Disability Rights Commision had been fab with her.

I'd say that it really is time to get onto that Ombudsman. How about a letter warning of this to Chief Exec. of council, cced to Director of Social Services (and two dozen other bigwigs?)

(Perscope was a brill. idea btw.I'm stealing that one. )

I had a SS bigwig round this week and they have agreed to pay for all our windows (including the ones we've already ordered and I was expecting to have to pay for - she said "I'm sure you have better things you can spend 7 grand on" (er yes our debts ). She was actually very helpful (thud)

I've contacted the roller barrier people to find out more- that does look ideal if it will work.

What about this?

It's plastic so not very sturdy but you could put it inside your existing fence.

It's a tricky one . .

You could always consider a thin strand of electric fence on the top? They don't cause pain,merely an unpleasant buzzy feeling.

Not very PC guarantedd but if it keeps him safe and gives you peace of mind it might be worth consideration?

The roller barrier does look good.

But it doesn't help the compulsion does it. Will he just take up the periscope again if denied climbing access?

have asked dh as he is the expert on lateral thinking round here...

he suggests:

1. replace fence with perspex fence (if ds just wants to see, then give him the view - if fence replaced form half way up, then still get containment height, but have view. I know you have reservations about perspicacity of perspex, though).

2. if it is extra height you want, and to re-encourage the periscope, instead of increasing fence height (as not legally possible) then dig down inside garden - ie a trench all along the fence.

3. combination of 1 & 2 - trench inside, with porthole windows, or random panels of fence replaced with perspex.

4. some kind of inward jutting netting/perspex panels to prevent climbing over the top - keep current fence with trellis top (does this provide enough view for ds?) and roof over part of garden, in effect (although then ds may be able to move stuff and climb onto roof)

5. ridiculous off the wall idea - how about a conservatory, where the back wall replaces your fence boundary? (don't know about overloking issues, though) - so entry to conservatory from garden, then ds1 has whole glass wall (good quality view) to look through.

All sound expensive, though

Oh Yurt1! just found your thread..... I'm with the roller top gang as a possible solution. I would definitely approach the OT lot again, putting it in writing about the dangers to your ds. If that fails try your MP.

I've also lost track on Charity funding, but would that be a possible avenue? Good luck and keep us updated with how you get on.

I'd just come to say perspex and silverfrog has beaten me to it! I know you said the fence is the maximum height already but would you be allowed to put a sheet of perspex along the top (you could slot it into runners extending from the top of the fence)? Then he could still climb up and see - but not climb over.

donno how many corners you have , but you may be able to buy a fairly large prickly plant to go in the corner, corners are easier to climb than straight bits ( for most people- your DS may have other ideas).

hawthorn hedging

Looking at the details you would only get 1.5 foot of growth per year,, but you could start with a three foot hedge. Expensive, but not as expensive as some of the alternatives.

Ds stays well away from ours

oops, just posted on the wrong thread. Do NOT get balckthorn, the thorns are like razors, dh got one in his leg and his leg went numb.

dh says put a wire thingy at the top that comes out at an angle(sort of like they do in prisons but not barbed wire) so it is at a 45% angle. so it is a overhang of about 18inch's.