Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Repetitive Behavior Profiles in Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism

  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although repetitive behaviors are a core diagnostic domain for autism spectrum disorders, research in this area has been neglected. This study had two major aims (1) to provide a detailed characterization of repetitive behaviors in individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS), high-functioning autism (HFA), and typically developing controls (TD); and (2) to examine whether differences in repetitive behavior profiles could provide evidence for the external validity of AS separate from HFA. Specifically, it was hypothesized that circumscribed interests would be more prevalent and cause more impairment in the AS group than the HFA group, while the reverse would be true for other categories of repetitive behavior. The parent(s) of 61 children and adolescents (19 with AS, 21 with HFA, and 21 TD) completed two interviews focused specifically on lifetime and current repetitive behavior symptoms. No reliable differences in repetitive behavior between AS and HFA children were found. Results suggested that circumscribed interests differ in developmental course from the three other DSM-IV-TR categories of repetitive behavior. Internal consistency among the four DSM-IV-TR categories of repetitive behavior was high, α=.84, providing evidence for a unitary repetitive behaviors factor. The importance of expanding research in the repetitive behavior domain is highlighted as part of the necessary integration of behavioral and neurobiological approaches to understanding the etiology of autism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • M. Alarcón R. M. Cantor J. Liu T. C. Gilliam D. H. Geschwind (2001) ArticleTitleEvidence for a language quantitative trait locus on chromosome 7q in multiplex autism families American Journal of Human Genetics 70 60–71

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameAmerican Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.) Author Washington, DC:

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameAmerican Psychiatric Association (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed. – text revision) Author Washington, DC:

    Google Scholar 

  • Asperger, H. (1944/1991). “Autistic psychopathy” in childhood. Translated and annotated by U. Frith. In U. Frith (Ed.), Autism and Asperger syndrome (pp. 37–92). New York: Cambridge University Press

  • S Baron-Cohen (1989) ArticleTitleDo autistic children have obsessions and compulsions British Journal of Clinical Psychology 28 193–200

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Bartak M. Rutter (1976) ArticleTitleDifferences between mentally retarded and normally intelligent autistic children Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia 6 109–120

    Google Scholar 

  • P. R. Bashe B. L. Kirby (2001) The OASIS guide to Asperger syndrome: Advice, support, insight, and inspiration Crown Publishers New York

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Berkson (1996) Feedback and control in the development of abnormal stereotyped behaviors RL Sprague K. M. Newell (Eds) Stereotyped movements Brain and behavior relationships American Psychological Association Washington, DC:

    Google Scholar 

  • J. W. Bodfish F. J. Symons D. E. Parker M. H. Lewis (2000) ArticleTitleVarieties of repetitive behavior in autism: Comparisons to mental retardation Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 30 237–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti & Sparrow (1981)

  • M. L. Cuccaro Y. Shao J. Grubber M. Slifer C. M. Wolpert S. L. Donnelly R. K. Abramson S. A. Ravan H. H. Wright G. R. DeLong M. A. Pericak-Vance (2003) ArticleTitleFactor analysis of restricted and repetitive behaviors in autism using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised Child Psychiatry and Human Development 34 3–17

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Dadds S. Schwartz T. Adams S. Rose (1998) ArticleTitleThe effects of social context and verbal skill on the stereotypic and task-involved behavior of autistic children Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 29 669–676

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Fecteau L. Mottron C. Berhiaume J. A. Burack (2003) ArticleTitleDevelopmental changes of autistic symptoms Autism 7 255–268

    Google Scholar 

  • J. M. Fletcher (1985) External validation of learning disability typologies B. P. Rourke (Eds) Neuropsychology of learning disabilities: Essentials of subtype analysis Guilford New York 187–211

    Google Scholar 

  • B. J. Freeman E. R. Ritvo P. C. Schroth I. Tonick D. Guthrie L. Wake (1981) ArticleTitleBehavioral characteristics of high and low IQ autistic children American Journal of Psychiatry 138 25–29

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Gilchrist J. Green A. Cox D. Burton M. Rutter A. LeCouteur (2001) ArticleTitleDevelopment and current functioning in adolescents with Asperger syndrome: A comparative study Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 42 227–240

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Gillberg (1989) ArticleTitleAsperger syndrome in 23 Swedish children Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 31 520–531

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Grossman L. Verobyev (1998) ArticleTitleThe neurobiology of stereotypic movement behaviors and SMD Psychiatric Annals 28 317–323

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Howlin (2003) ArticleTitleOutcome in high-functioning adults with autism with and without early language delays: Implications for the differentiation between autism and Asperger syndrome Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 33 3–14

    Google Scholar 

  • M. H. Johnson (1997) Developmental cognitive neuroscience: An introduction Blackwell Publishers London

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Kanner (1943) ArticleTitleAutistic disturbances of affective contact Nervous Child 2 217–253

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Karmiloff-Smith (2001) Genotype/phenotype relations: Why a cognitive developmental perspective is essential. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development Minnesota Minneapolis

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Kerbeshian W. Fisher L. Burd (1990) ArticleTitleAsperger’s syndrome: to be or not to be British Journal of Psychiatry 156 721–725

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Klin F. R. Volkmar (1997) Asperger syndrome D. J. Cohen F. R. Volkmar (Eds) Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders, 2nd edition Wiley New York 94–122

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow D. V. Cicchetti B. P. Rourke (1995) ArticleTitleValidity and neuropsychological characterization of Asperger Syndrome: Convergence with nonverbal learning disabilities syndrome Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 36 1127–1140

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Klin F. R. Volkmar (2000) Treatment and intervention guidelines for individuals with Asperger syndrome A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow (Eds) Asperger syndrome Guilford New York 340–366

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow (2000) Introduction A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow (Eds) Asperger syndrome Guilford New York 1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • M. H. Lewis B. W. Bodfish (1998) ArticleTitleRepetitive behavior disorders in autism Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews 4 80–89

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Lord M. Rutter A. Le Couteur (1994) ArticleTitleAutism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 24 659–685

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Lord S. Risi L. Lambrecht E. H. Cook B. L. Leventhal P. DiLavore A. Pickles M Rutter (2000) ArticleTitleThe Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 30 205–223

    Google Scholar 

  • K. E. Macintosh C. Dissanayake (2004) ArticleTitleThe similarities and differences between autistic disorder and Asperger disorder: A review of the empirical evidence Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45 410–434

    Google Scholar 

  • S. D. Mayes S. L. Calhoun (2001) ArticleTitleNon-significance of early speech delay in children with autism and normal intelligence and implications for DSM-IV Asperger’s disorder Autism 5 81–94

    Google Scholar 

  • J. N. Miller S. Ozonoff (2000) ArticleTitleThe external validity of Asperger disorder: Lack of evidence from the domain of neuropsychology Journal of Abnormal Psychology 109 227–238

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Ozonoff E. M. Griffith (2000) Neuropsychological function and the external validity of Asperger syndrome A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow (Eds) Asperger syndrome Guilford New York 72–96

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Ozonoff M. South J. N. Miller (2000) ArticleTitleDSM-IV-defined Asperger syndrome: Cognitive, behavioral and early history differentiation from high-functioning autism Autism 4 29–46

    Google Scholar 

  • B. F. Pennington (2002) The development of psychopathology: Nature and nurture Guilford New York

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Pierce R. A. Muller J. Ambrose G. Allen E. Courchesne (2001) ArticleTitleFace processing occurs outside the fusiform ’face area’ in autism: evidence from functional MRI Brain 124 2059–73

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Piven J. Harper P. Palmer S. Arndt (1996) ArticleTitleCourse of behavioral change in autism: A retrospective study of high-IQ adolescents and adults Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 35 523–529

    Google Scholar 

  • Ridley (1994)

  • E. Schopler (1996) ArticleTitleAre autism and Asperger syndrome different labels or different disabilities Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 26 109–110

    Google Scholar 

  • L. L. Sears C. Vest S. Mohamed J. Bailey Ranson J. Piven (1999) ArticleTitleAn MRI study of the basal ganglia in autism Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Behavioral Psychiatry 23 613–624

    Google Scholar 

  • Y. Shao M. L. Cuccaro E. R. Hauser K. L. Raiford M. M. Menold C. M. Wolpert S. A. Ravan L. Elston K. Decena S. L. Donnelly R. K. Abramson H. H. Wright G. R. DeLong J. R. Gilbert M. A. Pericak-Vance (2003) ArticleTitleFine mapping of autistic disorder to chromosome 15q11-q13 by use of phenotypic subtypes American Journal of Human Genetics 72 539–548

    Google Scholar 

  • South, M., Klin, A., & Ozonoff, S. (1999). The Yale Special Interests Interview. Unpublished measure.

  • E. Starr P. Szatmari S. Bryson L. Zwaigenbaum (2003) ArticleTitleStability and change among high-functioning children with pervasive developmental disorders: A 2-year outcome study Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 33 15–22

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Szatmari (1991) ArticleTitleAsperger syndrome: Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome Psychiatric Clinics of North America 14 81–93

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Szatmari (2000) Perspectives on the classification of Asperger syndrome A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow (Eds) Asperger syndrome Guilford New York 403–417

    Google Scholar 

  • K. E. Towbin (1997) Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified D. J. Cohen F. R. Volkmar (Eds) Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders, 2nd edition Wiley New York 123–147

    Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Turner (1997) Towards an executive dysfunction account of repetitive behavior in autism J. Russell (Eds) Autism as an executive disorder Oxford University Press Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Turner (1999) ArticleTitleAnnotation: Repetitive behavior in autism: A review of psychological research Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 40 839–849

    Google Scholar 

  • F. R. Volkmar A. Klin R. T. Schultz R. Bronen W. D. Marans S. S. Sparrow D. J. Cohen (1996) ArticleTitleAsperger’s syndrome Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 35 118–123

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Wing (1981) ArticleTitleAsperger syndrome: A clinical account Psychological Medicine 11 115–129

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Wing (2000) Past and future of research on Asperger syndrome A. Klin F. R. Volkmar S. S. Sparrow (Eds) Asperger Syndrome Guilford New York 418–432

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameWorld Health Organization (1993) International classification of mental and behavioral disorders - diagnostic criteria for research (10th ed) Author Geneva

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Utah and Utah Autism Research Project, USA

    Mikle South

  2. M.I.N.D. Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California-Davis, USA

    Sally Ozonoff

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah School of Medicine and Utah Autism Research Project, USA

    William M. McMahon

Authors
  1. Mikle South
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sally Ozonoff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. William M. McMahon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sally Ozonoff.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

South, M., Ozonoff, S. & McMahon, W.M. Repetitive Behavior Profiles in Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 35, 145–158 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-004-1992-8

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-004-1992-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation