The door slammed. I heard a click and grabbed the door handle. But it wouldn’t turn.

“Unlock the door,” I pleaded.

No answer. I crouched onto the floor and peeked under it. My autistic 2-year-old son had locked himself into the master bedroom, leaving me on the outside with my husband and 3- and 4-year-old daughters. He was so close I could have touched him.

First he laughed. Then he cried. How was I supposed to explain to a 2-year-old how to unlock a door?

We were away from home in a condo in Hilton Head that we had rented for our family of five. The property owner had recently updated the condo and, as we learned at that moment, he hadn’t left a key or any tools to unlock it anywhere in the rental.

My son paced back and forth while I talked to him through the space under the door. I

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