We wriggle, walk, flip, fidget, squirm, shift, tumble, twist, mill, and move... and it can annoy others around us - I mean significantly annoy others. But, consider for a moment that this movement may also be what helps us focus. I had a boss who knew the more doodling I had on my notepad, the more I focused on the topic. I was fortunate to have a boss who understood this about me. Unfortunately, many kids (and adults) aren't so lucky.
In the attached article, Tadius Hartanto, Samantha Lewis, MD, and Julie Schweitzer, Ph.D., discuss their study published in the Journal of Child Neuropsychology (2016). This study found that "children with ADHD perform better on a complex attention task when they are fidgeting." They go on to discuss what this means for children and adults and offer less disruptive options to channel a child's fidgeting.
The next time your squiggle is extra squiggly, it's just possible they are working on a groundbreaking new theory.