Home Safety Audit for Families of Autistic Children: Room-by-Room Checklist

Standard childproofing assumes a toddler who grows out of climbing, mouthing and opening doors by school age. Many autistic children follow a different path. A seven-year-old may still put objects in their mouth, a quiet ten-year-old may know how to unlock the back door, and a child who loves water may head straight for the pool. A home safety audit is a one-afternoon walk through your house, room by room, looking at it the way your child does. This guide gives you the checklist, the official guidance behind each item and low-cost fixes to start with.

How do I run a home safety audit?

1. List your child's safety patterns first. Does your child wander or bolt, climb, mouth or eat non-food items, seek water, play with light switches or stoves, open locks, or hurt themselves when upset? The answers decide which rooms come first.
2. Walk the house at your child's height. Kneel in each room. Notice what is reachable, what could be climbed, and what is interesting.
3. Remove before you add. Removing or locking away a hazard is usually cheaper and more reliable than a gadget. That is also how Hope Center's clinical team approaches safety: remove hazards and use the least intrusive, safest strategy that works.
4. Use layers for the big risks. For water and wandering, no single lock or alarm is enough. Plan at least two layers.
5. Write it down and share it with every adult who cares for your child, including grandparents, sitters and therapists.
6. Repeat the audit when your child grows, learns a new skill (like using a step stool or a key), or when you move.

Exterior doors and wandering: what should I check?

Wandering is the safety concern many autistic families name first, and in Florida it often leads toward water. At each door that leads outside:

• Is there a lock your child cannot reach or open? Common low-cost options are a high slide bolt or a second deadbolt placed above your child's reach.
• Will you hear the door open? Battery door and window chimes are inexpensive; a contact alarm on the door to the pool or yard is a priority.
• Can every adult get out fast in a fire? Keep keys for any keyed lock where every adult can reach them, and practice your fire exit plan.
• Are car keys, house keys and garage door openers out of reach?
• Is there a current photo of your child on your phone, and does every caregiver know your family's plan if your child goes missing?

Our wandering and elopement safety plan covers this in depth, and GPS trackers and door alarms compares devices. If your child is ever missing, check water first, then call 911.

Is my pool, spa and yard set up the way Florida law expects?

Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (chapter 515, Florida Statutes) applies to home pools, hot tubs and non-portable spas with water over 24 inches deep (s. 515.25). To pass final inspection, a new residential pool must have at least one of these features (s. 515.27):

• a barrier that meets s. 515.29;
• an approved safety pool cover;
• exit alarms on all doors and windows with direct access from the home to the pool, rated at least 85 dB A at 10 feet;
• self-closing, self-latching devices on all doors with direct access to the pool, with the release no lower than 54 inches above the floor; or
• an in-pool alarm independently certified to ASTM F2208. A wearable alarm attached to a child does not count.

Under s. 515.29, a barrier must be at least 4 feet high on the outside, with no gaps or footholds a young child could crawl under, squeeze through or climb over. Gates must open outward away from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching, with the latch release on the pool side out of a child's reach. Nothing permanent that could be used for climbing may sit next to the barrier, and an above-ground pool's ladder or steps must be able to be secured, locked or removed.

The law sets a minimum for new pools; it does not require older pools to be retrofitted. For a child who wanders or is drawn to water, one feature is rarely enough. Use this audit to check:

• Do we have at least two layers between the house and the pool (for example, door alarms plus a fence with a self-latching gate)?
• Do gates close and latch by themselves every time? Test them.
• Are chairs, planters, coolers or pool equipment pushed away from the fence?
• Are pool toys out of the water and out of sight after swimming?
• Is there a canal, lake or retention pond the yard opens onto, and is the yard fence and gate secure?
• Is a spa or hot tub covered and locked?

For more, see Florida's pool safety law explained and our drowning prevention guide.

Room by room: kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and living areas

Kitchen

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) kitchen safety tips include:

• Store strong cleaners, dishwasher detergent, furniture polish and other dangerous products in a high cabinet, and use safety locks on cabinets with dangerous items.
• Keep knives, scissors and other sharp tools separate from everyday utensils, in a latched drawer.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove.
• On a gas stove, turn the dials firmly off. If the knobs come off easily, remove them when you are not cooking; if not, use child-resistant knob covers and block access to the stove.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach and out of sight.
• Unplug appliances when not in use, and stay nearby if your child can reach the microwave.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and on every floor.
• Avoid small refrigerator magnets a child could swallow.

Bathroom

• Never leave a young child alone in the bath, even for a moment. Many autistic children need this supervision for longer than other children their age.
• Set your water heater so the hottest water at the tap is no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit, as the AAP recommends.
• Use a toilet lid lock if your child plays in water.
• Lock away medicines, cosmetics and razors.
• Unplug hair dryers and other appliances after use and store them away from water.

Bedrooms and living areas

• Anchor furniture and TVs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported in February 2026 that 217 tip-over deaths were reported from 2013 to mid-2023, and 71 percent of those killed were children ages 1 to 3. CPSC advises anchoring TVs, dressers and bookcases to the wall, and storing heavier items low. A child who climbs needs this at any age.
• Windows. The AAP notes that a screen is not strong enough to prevent a fall. Open windows from the top when you can, and install operable window guards above the first floor.
• Window cords. The AAP advises avoiding window coverings with cords, which are a strangulation risk.
• Stairs. Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs, and avoid accordion-style gates that can trap an arm or neck.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level and outside bedrooms, tested monthly.
• Button and coin batteries in remotes, toys and key fobs: keep devices with loose battery doors out of reach. A swallowed battery can cause serious internal injury.
• Firearms. The AAP says the safest home for a child is one without a gun. If there is a gun in your home, store it unloaded and locked, with ammunition locked separately.

Where should medicines and chemicals go?

Medicines and chemicals belong in a locked or high cabinet in every room, not just the kitchen. The CDC's Up and Away guidance says about 100 young children are brought to the emergency room each day after getting into medicines, and recommends:

• keeping all medicines, vitamins and supplements (including gummies) up, away and out of sight;
• relocking the safety cap every time, because child-resistant caps are not childproof;
• asking visitors and sitters to keep purses, bags and coats with medicines up and away and out of sight.

The AAP adds that single-use laundry detergent packets are very concentrated and can be toxic, so store them locked after each use. If you think your child swallowed a medicine or chemical, the CDC says to call Poison Help at 800-222-1222 right away, even if you are not sure. Call 911 right away if your child collapses, cannot be woken or has trouble breathing. Save the Poison Help number in every caregiver's phone.

If your child often puts non-food items in their mouth, tell their pediatrician. It is a health question as well as a safety one, and a BCBA can work with the family and doctor on a plan.

Garage, laundry room and outdoors

• Lock away pool chemicals, pesticides, fertilizer, gasoline, paint and car fluids. Keep them in their original containers.
• Store power tools, ladders and lawn equipment where your child cannot reach or climb them.
• Lock parked cars and keep keys out of reach, so a child cannot climb in on a hot day. See our guide to hot cars and car-seat escapes.
• After a storm, use a portable generator outdoors only. Ready.gov says generators should be used outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and attached garages, and recommends carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup on every level of the home.

Printable home safety audit checklist

How can ABA help with home safety?

Barriers come first, and skills come second. Applied behavior analysis can teach the skills that make a home safer, in small steps practiced at home: stopping when an adult says "stop", waiting at a door, asking before going outside, responding to their name, and using a card or words to ask for help. Our guides to teaching safety words like stop and wait and teaching name, address and phone number explain how. If behavior that hurts your child or others is part of the picture, see our home safety plan for aggression.

Hope Center provides in-home ABA, where safety skills can be practiced in the rooms where they matter, and weekly parent training so every adult uses the same words and steps. Progress differs from child to child, and skills never replace locks, fences and supervision. To talk about your child's safety goals, contact Hope Center or call 561-337-8865 for a free consultation and a free check of your insurance benefits.