I don't think I'd want my kids locked in or out of school grounds, even if I had special needs kids. My thoughts on this again are fire risk. Also, what if a gunman somehow did get into the school (fed ex delivery etc) I'd hate to think the kids were locked inside and not able to run. Or if they arrived late and someone followed them, if the doors were locked they would have to wait for someone to unlock before they would be safe. JMO I personally wouldn't want to be locked inside any facility.
With autistic kids, I don't think the door locks are the only issue. They can also get into just as much trouble right on the school grounds if they are not supervised correctly. I think the main issue is more supervision, and certainly a better security guard. With Avonte, he escaped because lack of supervision from security guard and chaos in the lunch room. I bet if there were a loud alarm on that exterior door it would do 2 things:#1 just the noise itself would scare and deter any bolsters. #2 it wouldn't take staff an hour to realize someone just bolted. JMO MOO
) But seriously, even in an alzheimers unit, we weren't allowed a locked facility, and you're talking about grown adults that decide they want to leave, and will find a way to leave! The solution was monitors attached to the ankles, and alarms on the doors that went off if someone wearing a monitor went through the door. Most of the facilities I worked for also had alarms on all exterior doors. Some you had to go hit certain numbers on a keypad to deactivate the alarm, and others the alarm only sounded for a few seconds... something like 15 seconds, but it was LOUD!
