Water safety and wandering

We want to be careful with numbers on a topic like this, so every figure below links to where it comes from.

• Drowning risk is much higher. A 2017 study by Guan and Li at Columbia University, published in the American Journal of Public Health, looked at US death records from 1999 to 2014. The researchers reported that children with autism were 160 times as likely to die from drowning as the general pediatric population.^[1],[2]
• Drowning dominates wandering deaths. In the National Autism Association’s review of fatal wandering cases from 2011 to 2016, drowning caused 71% of the deaths, far ahead of traffic, the next most common cause.^[3]
• It still is. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports that in 2025, of at least 98 children and young adults on the autism spectrum who were recovered deceased after going missing, 88% drowned. Of those who drowned, 90% were aged 10 or younger, and 67% of the drownings happened in natural or natural-looking water such as ponds, lakes and retention basins.^[4]
• It happens close by and quickly. NCMEC says drowning most often happens within a few hundred feet to half a mile of where the child went missing, and within a few minutes.^[4]

These numbers describe groups, not your child, and most children who wander come home safe. But they point clearly at where to put your effort first.

Many autistic children love water. It can be calming, it sparkles and moves, it feels good, and it may be something a child seeks out on purpose. Some children do not understand that water can be dangerous, or cannot judge depth. NCMEC notes that children may elope to seek out stimulation or a special interest, or to get away from something overwhelming.^[4] None of this is a parenting failure. It is simply a reason to plan around water from the start.

The Columbia researchers wrote that swimming classes should be the intervention of top priority for children with autism, ideally soon after diagnosis.^[1] The American Academy of Pediatrics also supports swim lessons for most children from age one, as one part of a layered approach.^[5]

What helps with autistic children in particular:

• Look for adapted or one to one lessons. Many pools and YMCAs offer lessons for children with special needs. Parents often tell us group classes did not work at first, and private lessons did.
• Practise in clothes and shoes. The National Autism Association recommends that the final lesson be done with clothing and shoes on, because that is how a child who wanders is likely to enter water.^[6]
• Focus on survival skills first. Getting back to the surface, floating, turning around and getting to the edge matter more than strokes.
• Remember lessons are not protection on their own. No child is drown-proof, and the AAP is clear that no single measure prevents drowning.^[5]

In Canada, the Lifesaving Society’s programs and local pools are good places to start asking about adapted lessons.^[7]

• Four-sided pool fencing. The AAP describes a fence at least four feet tall, with a self-closing, self-latching gate, that completely separates the pool from the house and yard as the most studied and effective drowning prevention measure for young children.^[5] A fence that uses the house as one side leaves a door straight onto the pool.
• Covers for pools and hot tubs, locked when not in use.^[6]
• Clear the pool of toys and interesting objects when nobody is swimming, so there is less to be drawn toward.^[6]
• Think beyond your own yard. A neighbour’s pool, a hot tub, a decorative pond or a rain barrel is often closer than you think.

The National Autism Association recommends alarms on doors, windows and gates, and pool alarms.^[6] The goal is not to make leaving impossible. It is to make it noisy, so you know within seconds instead of minutes. Inexpensive battery door chimes are a good start, placed on every door your child can reach, including the one to the garage.

Most families underestimate how much water is within walking distance. Spend an afternoon mapping every pool, pond, creek, ditch, fountain, retention basin and beach within about a mile of home, with how long each takes to reach on foot and whether it is fenced. Our free water hazard map worksheet makes this easier, and our water safety plan turns it into a plan you can share. Update it when you move, visit relatives or go to a cottage.

At the pool, beach or lake, name one adult as the water watcher, with no phone and no distractions, and hand the role over out loud when they need a break. Bright swimwear is easier to spot in water. Tell lifeguards about your child. At gatherings, busy moments are often the riskiest, because every adult assumes someone else is watching.

If your child is missing, the National Autism Association’s advice is to always search nearby water first.^[6] Check the nearest water, then call 911 and tell the dispatcher your child is autistic and may be drawn to water. Our practical guide to wandering and elopement covers the first few minutes in more detail.

Bathtubs, buckets, hot tubs, drainage ditches after rain, retention ponds in new subdivisions, fountains at shopping centres, and frozen ponds in winter. In colder places, thin ice and very cold water add their own risks, so include winter in your plan, not just summer.

A GPS tracker can tell you where your child is and alert you when they leave a safe area, which can shorten a search. But it cannot stop a child from entering water, and most trackers, including ours, are not built to be submerged. Treat a tracker as a way to find your child faster, never as a substitute for the layers above. If you are comparing devices, see choosing a GPS tracker for an autistic child.