Sensory and repetitive behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder at home

Atypical sensory and repetitive behaviors are defining features of autism spectrum disorder and are thought to be influenced by environmental factors; however, there is a lack of naturalistic research exploring contexts surrounding these behaviors. This study involved video recording observations of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Autism : the international journal of research and practice 2017-02, Vol.21 (2), p.142-154
Main Authors: Kirby, Anne V, Boyd, Brian A, Williams, Kathryn L, Faldowski, Richard A, Baranek, Grace T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Activities of Daily Living - psychology
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology
Autistic children
Behavior Problems
Child
Child Behavior
Child Behavior - psychology
Child, Preschool
Children
Environment
Environmental aspects
Female
Humans
Male
Naturalistic Observation
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Play and Playthings - psychology
Repetition
Repetitive behaviour
Sensory Experience
Stereotyped Behavior
Stereotypes
Stimuli
Stimulus
Video Technology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Atypical sensory and repetitive behaviors are defining features of autism spectrum disorder and are thought to be influenced by environmental factors; however, there is a lack of naturalistic research exploring contexts surrounding these behaviors. This study involved video recording observations of 32 children with autism spectrum disorder (2–12 years of age) engaging in sensory and repetitive behaviors during home activities. Behavioral coding was used to determine what activity contexts, sensory modalities, and stimulus characteristics were associated with specific behavior types: hyperresponsive, hyporesponsive, sensory seeking, and repetitive/stereotypic. Results indicated that hyperresponsive behaviors were most associated with activities of daily living and family-initiated stimuli, whereas sensory seeking behaviors were associated with free play activities and child-initiated stimuli. Behaviors associated with multiple sensory modalities simultaneously were common, emphasizing the multi-sensory nature of children’s behaviors in natural contexts. Implications for future research more explicitly considering context are discussed.
ISSN:1362-3613
1461-7005
DOI:10.1177/1362361316632710