Why Wandering Isn't "Avoidance" in Autistic Students

When I enter a classroom as an OT, I never know quite what I’ll find. One time, I came in to work with a student who had handwriting goals. The plan was simple on paper: pull out their notebook, practice letter formation, and move one step closer to mastery.

But when I arrived, this student wasn’t sitting at their desk ready for fine motor tasks. Instead, they were moving around the classroom, dragging their toes along the carpet as they often did, pausing to slide their fingers along papers on the wall. To an outside observer, this might look like avoidance.

They don’t want to do their work.

They’re not ready to engage.

But as  I reflect on this now —both as a neuroaffirming OT and as an Autistic person—I see something different. I see a child whose nervous system is communicating . . . something.

Wandering as Communication:

I do not believe Autistic students wander “aimlessly”. Their movement is meaningful, even if it doesn’t align with traditional classroom expectations. Here are some reasons why wandering might happen:

• Seeking regulation through movement. The child’s body may need proprioceptive or vestibular input to feel grounded. Walking, pacing, or gently swaying provides this.

• Managing overwhelm. The classroom environment can be full of sensory challenges—buzzing lights, chatter, visual clutter. Wandering gives the child space to filter, recover, and avoid overload.

• Regaining autonomy. Sitting still at a desk for a handwriting task can be an enormous demand. Wandering allows the child to reclaim agency over their body when the expectation feels too heavy.

• Exploring safely. Some students wander to map their environment, check in with familiar objects, or create predictability before returning to a more demanding activity.

None of these reasons point to a lack of interest in people or connection. Quite the opposite—wandering is often the child’s way of staying connected to their own body so that they can engage with others more successfully later.

A Window Into the Nervous System

When a child wanders, it is not a refusal. It’s a signal. It tells us: “My nervous system needs something before I can meet this demand.”

As an Autistic OT, I recognize this from my own lived experience. I know what it feels like when my body is flooded and my brain can’t access higher-level skills. In those moments, I don’t need correction. I need regulation.

The wandering shows us exactly where to support the child. Instead of pulling them back to the desk immediately, we can pause and ask:• What sensory input are they seeking?• How can we provide a regulating activity before moving to handwriting?• How can we adjust any handwriting demand, or eliminate it completely and embrace other communicative approaches?

Shifting Our Lens as Professionals

This student wasn’t “refusing to engage.”

They were showing me, clearly and without speakign, that handwriting was too high a demand for their current state.

As soon as I reframed the wandering as a message from their nervous system, I could respond with empathy instead of pressure.Oftentimes, the best session for any teacher, therapist, or other professional begins with meeting the child where they are—honoring their movement, giving their nervous system what it needs, and creating conditions where engagement becomes possible. We can join in with them, wander silently beside them, pausing to explore and appreciate whatever they find intrigues them in a classroom.

And we can take it further . . . if we suspect they seek movement to regulate, is there more intense movement we can offer, such as class-wide, dance breaks throughout the day?

Or perhaps we could notice what items or other sensory experiences draw them in, such as touching paper and transitioning to an activity in which we crumple paper to address and improve fine motor skills.

Closing Reflection

Wandering isn’t disconnection. It’s communication. When we understand Autistic students’ behaviors through the lens of regulation, we stop seeing avoidance and start seeing wisdom. Their bodies are telling us what they need to thrive!And if we, as professionals, slow down enough to listen, we give them the best gift possible: safety, respect, and the space to be fully themselves.

Have you ever wondered about “wandering”?

Have you had a time when you wandered with a child?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

More from Dr. Lisa Marnell and Kids Master Skills . . .

This fall Dr. Lisa launched an AOTA-approved professional development entitled, "Insight to Autism for School-Based OTs"!

This self-paced, online course provides 8 AOTA Contact Hours (0.8 AOTA CEUs) and walks OTPs through a process to bettter understand their Autistic students, support them in schools in ways that align with their Autistic neurobiology (enabling them to feel less stress and experience better quality of life), and show them how to optimize Autistic students' learning while also guiding teachers, staff, and admin to adopt neuroaffirming practices!

Check out Dr. Lisa's professional development at this picture link!

And if you are a parent, teacher, or other school professional, you can take Dr. Lisa's course tailored for you! Learn more about a course for you at this picture link!

If you want to learn more ways to support your autistic students, watch my FREE MasterClass that offers you proactive supports for sensory sensitive children and teens.

Register and watch it HERE: https://www.kidsmasterskills.com/ 

Also, do you have my 10 Neurodiversity-Affirming posters? Download them HERE! 

As always, feel welcome to touch base with me by e-mail at KidsMasterSkills@gmail.com

I would love to hear about your successes, your struggles, your feedback, and any questions or comments you have! Let me know if this post was helpful.