Restricted and repetitive behaviours, sensory processing and cognitive style in children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Many individuals with autism tend to focus on details. It has been suggested that this cognitive style may underlie the presence of stereotyped routines, repetitive interests and behaviours, and both relate in some way to sensory abnormalities. Twenty-nine children with diagnosis of high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome completed the Embedded Figures Test (EFT), and their parents the Short Sensory Profile and Childhood Routines Inventory. Significant correlations were found between degree of sensory abnormalities and amount of restricted and repetitive behaviours reported. Repetitive behaviours, age and IQ significantly predicted completion time on the EFT. The results suggest a cognitive link between an individual's detail-focused cognitive style and their repetitiveness. No such relationship was found with sensory processing abnormalities, which may arise at a more peripheral level of functioning.