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SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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Original poster

Ho hum potentially very dangerous (death causing) behaviour- what to do?

75 replies

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 11:31

DS1 is very interested in our back fence, there'sa massive -at least 30 foot- drop behind- our garden is at the level of the next street's roofs. At the moment he's trying to climb it to look over the top, but isn't trying that hard- preferring to get one of us to lift him up.

I can't keep him out of the garden as he can open our back door- am trying to get a quote for a new back door but workmen mutter mutter etc. At the moment I am lifting him up myself, my theory being that he;ll eventually get bored, and if I'm lifting him he won't try too hard to climb himself.

Other idea welcomed- the thought of him going over it horrifies me- honestly he would be dead.

OP posts:

moondog · 25/08/2006 14:04

7 foot really isn't so high is it?
I would go with the barbed wire. If it keeps him safe,what is the problem?

I've seen fences that sort of bend inwards at the top to discourage climbing,but I presume you need an immediate solution.

Would SS pay for more secure fencing? I know they have for some people Iknow..

Avalon · 25/08/2006 14:08

Change the lock on the door and keep the key with you.

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:10

I doubt SS would- or if they would it would take them a year to decide (ike Growing up severely autistic- they call me Gabriel- SS agreed to pay to provide something to stop Gabriel climbing up on top of the roof of his parents house, by the time they got round to it he'd fallen through the neighbours roof (or fallen off the roof and through their conservatory- ended up unhurt in an armchair).

Thanks for the barbed wire tips.

OP posts:

geekgrrl · 25/08/2006 14:11

jimjams. Sounds like a 'mare.
at least you won't have to pay VAT on more secure fencing.

Saturn74 · 25/08/2006 14:13

Would you be able to put something like a sandpit alongside the fence, so the ground would be lower IYSWIM? Or is the area just too big? Lowering the ground - digging it out - may be an alternative to making the fence higher.

BettySpaghetti · 25/08/2006 14:14

jimjams2 -I was googling for an image to show what I meant about the top of the fence sloping in and found thisscroll down to the bottom of the page .
I know barbed wire isn't ideal and not sure whther it would deter him even but just in case you were considering it this might be of use.

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:16

I'd worry about digging down in case it loosened the fence. It doesn't help that dh doesn;t know a hammer from a screwdriver!

I'm also wondering about a tennis court net or something- you know the high nets that go around tennis courts. Where on eartyh would I find someone to install that? Perhaps I could net the whole garden so it was like a giant aviary

OP posts:

tamum · 25/08/2006 14:16

God, I wish I could help. I would worry about barbed wire, I have to say- I know it would stop him killing himself but he could still do himself some quite nasty damage, as presumably it wouldn't act as a deterrent as such for him. No chance of putting some kind of netting up on top of the fence, I guess?

wannaBe1974 · 25/08/2006 14:16

is there anything that ds1 dislikes, i.e. a certain texture - fur was it you said in another posting I think? could you cut up some fur and put it all along the top of the fence, so that when ds1 reached up, he wouldn't want to touch the top of the fence and thus wouldn't climb up there?

geekgrrl · 25/08/2006 14:17

how about an electric fence? (Actually, I know this sounds awful and would he purposely go back for more?)
You can buy cheap single wire electric fencing in farm supply shops. Painful but effective, with no damage caused (unlike barbed wire).

tamum · 25/08/2006 14:17

Oh, spooky- I cross posted, but that kind of netting was what I was thinking of, like you get around trampolines. Not wildly practical though I guess....

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:18

oh yes that barbed wire bracket thing would do. Front of the house is already like a prison (4 locks on front door), so could do the same to the back! Who needs Hones And Gardens magazine- we need autistic lifestyle.

I'm joking but honestly could cry.

OP posts:

Avalon · 25/08/2006 14:18

Maybe I'm not understanding something, but why can't you get a locksmith out today - maybe as an emergency - and just change the lock on your existing door?

Failing that, why not change the bolt to one of those with loops on so you can put a padlock through it?

In both cases, keep the key on you.

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:19

yes- that is a worry tamum- getting himself caught in it.

electric fence I suspect he might enjoy (and would be terrified about ds3 if it was a ground level).

OP posts:

southeastastra · 25/08/2006 14:20

yes you can buy strong plastic green net in the garden centre by the metre that would be a good idea, you could attach it to some brackets, it would be hard to climb over that. have you spoken to the neighbour on the other side they also could help maybe ?

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:21

The back door is rotten it needs to be replaced and we don't have the money to replace the locks then the door. It's some crappy internal door that someone's put on the back - if they remove the lock I think there's no way of putting a new one in.

I can't get to B and Q to get an alternative bolt because I have all 3 kids today. (and with dh's and my diy skills combined we'd be struggling).

OP posts:

misdee · 25/08/2006 14:22

right heres an idea, dismiss it if you will. cut some wooden posts at an angle, and fix them so they slop inwards towards the garden. then laveing a small peering gap of an inche or so, nail boarded between eacvh posts, efeectivly building an angeled fence that slopes in and up from the old fence?

hard toexplain but i know what i mean. he could still peer but the nagle sloping in, means he wouldnt be able to climb over.

BettySpaghetti · 25/08/2006 14:23

Someone mentioning netting reminded me that a friend of ours, who is a landscape gardener had to totally enclose somones garden in net once.

He had to drape a huge net over the garden,from central posts, securing it on the fencing to stop the customers autistic child throwing things out of the garden and trying to climb over fences (although I think the climbing over was less of an issue than with your DS).

Could you get any advice from other parents who have faced this problem jimjams?

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:23

I do think a key round the neck (as I have for my front door) is the way to go, but I think its a case of replacing the door rather than the lock,

Fell sorry for ds1 though- the garden was the one place he could play in safely relatively unsupervised.

OP posts:

misdee · 25/08/2006 14:23

jimjams, ask on your local freecycle for an old back door.

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:24

oh you mean like a bird hide misdee. BS- that would be possible and mayeb the thing to do (he also chucks things over- like back door keys, yesterday our next door neighbour returned with a door handle)

OP posts:

misdee · 25/08/2006 14:25

yes, like a bird hide. if i was in your area i'd do it for you.

BettySpaghetti · 25/08/2006 14:27

it must be so difficult jimjams especially as you say you thought the back garden was relatively safe

Original poster

Jimjams2 · 25/08/2006 14:46

oh we would never have bought this house if ds1 had been older (he was 3 and passive when we moved in). 5 floors, no driveway, original old windows at the front of the house balconies 2 and 3 stories up and a roof terrace......

We would have a bungalow, lockable upvc double glazing throught with (and this is my dream if I was build a house form scratch) the garden as a kind of inner courtyard- like a quad- the bungalow would be outside the garden......

OP posts:

misdee · 25/08/2006 14:55

i have a bungalow, your house sounds amazing, though is opbviously not right for you . dd2 tries to climb out, but fortunatly her poor muscle tone means she cant, well not yet anyway.

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