Will it ever stop?” Repetitive Behaviours: A Neglected Area of Early Autism Research

 

Start and End Dates: 1 January 2004 – 30 June 2004

This study had two aims. The first was to look at reported repetitive behaviours of one hundred and four children with communication disorders, including autism spectrum disorders over a year. We found that parents reported that the impact and severity of problems diminished to an extent over the period of a year, though previous literature has suggested an increase. Parents described a range of coping strategies.

The second aim was to develop a more detailed interview about repetitive behaviours in autism with a pilot group of parents.

 

Publications associated with this project
Honey, E, McConachie, H, Randle, V, Shearer, H, and Le Couteur, A. (2008) One-year change in repetitive behaviours in young children with communication disorders including autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38 (8), 1439-1450.

Honey, E, McConachie, H, Le Couteur, AS (2005) ‘Will it ever stop?’ How parents deal with children’s repetitive behaviour.  Communication (National Autistic Society), 39 (2), 45-47.

Presentations associated with this project
McConachie, H, Honey, E, Randle, V, Shearer, H, Le Couteur, A S.  One-year change in repetitive behaviours in young children with communication disorders including autism.  Presented at the 16th Annual Meeting of the European Academy of Childhood Disability, Edinburgh, October 2004.

Burton, N, McConachie, H, Leekam, S, Meins, E, Parkinson, K, Arnott, B, Le Couteur, AS. ‘Over and over again’: Comparing repetitive behaviours in typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder, at a two year language age.  Oral presentation at the International Meeting for Autism Research, London, May 2008.