Longitudinal Examination of Wandering in Children and Adolescents With Autism

Wandering – or leaving a supervised space and/or care of a responsible person – disproportionately affects children with autism and can lead to serious injury. We describe parent-reported wandering in children with autism in early childhood and adolescence and characterize wandering in adolescence. Of 258 teens with autism enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development, caregivers reported that 45% never wandered, 41% wandered only in early childhood, and 14% wandered at least once in adolescence (including 9% that wandered at both time points). Childhood externalizing behavior problems were positively associated with wandering only in early childhood and at least once in adolescence compared to never wandered (both p < .01). Adolescents who wandered most often left public places (58.3%). To address wandering, caregivers most often added home locks/alarms (30.6%) and least often placed a tracking device (8.3%) on the adolescent. In conclusion, wandering is less common among adolescents than young children with autism but still presents opportunities for intervention. These findings can help partners communicate that childhood externalizing behavior problems are associated with wandering regardless of age and promote awareness of and access to interventions that can improve health and safety. Lay Abstract Wandering occurs when a child leaves a safe space. Children with autism wander more than other children. This can lead to serious injury. We describe wandering in children and adolescents with autism. In total, 258 teens with autism were included in the analysis. Caregivers reported that 45% never wandered, 41% wandered only in early childhood, and 14% wandered at least once in adolescence (including 9% that wandered at both time points). Children with behaviors like hyperactivity were more likely to wander in both early childhood and adolescence. Adolescents who wandered most often left public places (58.3%). To address wandering, caregivers most often added home locks/alarms (30.6%) and least often placed a tracking device (8.3%) on the adolescent. In sum, wandering is less common among adolescents than young children with autism. However, we can still help families with adolescents with autism who wander. One way to help these families is to educate people that behavior problems like hyperactivity are associated with wandering regardless of age. Another way to help these families is to increase ways to address wandering away from the home to keep adolescents with autism safe.