My 17 y.o dealt with a crisis all by herself all alone and it was horrible for everyone involved, especially her.
She phoned me after school in tears seconds after her staff left her at the bus stop (waiting to come home). She said she was slightly dysregulated before she left school but just wanted to get home so didn't regulate. I don't think she expected staff to just leave her waiting 20 minutes by herself as they usually wait but she understands and thinks they had other things to do.
She phoned me in tears, absolutely distressed. She could not regulate and felt so scared all alone, miles away from everyone. She just wanted to get home but she was so distressed she couldn't. She said she had negative thoughts and didn't think she could stay safe. Last time she was in that place upset, she ended up threatening her life for days, missing. She struggles so so much to regulate. She just wanted someone with her.
I told her to sit by school, in a safe place, where she feels safe and not to move until she is fully calm. I kept checking in with her, so did friends and teachers. She had a crisis again and it's scary. My husband picked her up at 6:30 and took her to her brothers drumming lesson down the road from where she was sat. She loves the drumming so it calmed her. She is now in bed. No one could physically get her and I believe she just needed time alone to calm down. Any interaction can do some serious damage.
I'm so proud of her, everyone is, and she even said she is proud of herself and does not regret any decisions she made today because if she did get the bus home, she said it could've been fatal. She said she trusted her gut and is now home safe and sound because of it.