A Neurodiversity-Oriented Approach to Address Autism Wandering as a “Problem Behavior” in Pediatrics

Pediatricians are frequently tasked with addressing autism “problem behaviors,” including wandering, defined as leaving the safety of a responsible person’s care or a safe area (alternatively referred to as elopement). In the following commentary, we - as autism researchers and individuals with lived experience - discuss the prevalence and public health consequences of wandering. We conceptualize wandering in the context of “problem behaviors” for autistic individuals and describe the current state of the evidence on wandering prevention and intervention. We emphasize that pediatricians have a unique opportunity to optimize their efforts to address wandering - as well as related “problem behaviors” - utilizing a neurodiversity orientation. This will allow them to enact approaches that address the potential upstream mechanisms underlying wandering to make these efforts more effective and provide critical assistance to families. In this manuscript, we provide recommendations to pediatricians to more effectively address the mechanisms underlying and exacerbating these challenges to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life of autistic children and their families. In particular, we recommend that pediatricians focus efforts toward 1) addressing the link between chronic stress and "problem behaviors"; 2) engaging individuals, caregivers, and families as experts in their health and development; and 3) collaborating with the systems and sectors relevant to autistic individuals and their families.