Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr;52(4):1423-1434.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-05014-8. Epub 2021 May 6.

Relations of Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors to Social Skills in Toddlers with Autism

Pang Chaxiong  1 , Catherine Burrows  1 , Kelly N Botteron  2 , Stephen R Dager  3 , Annette M Estes  3 , Heather C Hazlett  4 , Robert T Schultz  5 , Lonnie Zwaigenbaum  6 , Joseph Piven #  4 , Jason Wolff #  7 ; IBIS Network
Collaborators, Affiliations

Relations of Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors to Social Skills in Toddlers with Autism

Pang Chaxiong et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

We examined the relations of restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB; insistence on sameness, repetitive sensory-motor, self-injurious behavior) to social skills overall and aspects that comprise social skills as measured by the VABS-II (coping skills, play/leisure time, interpersonal relationships) in 24- (n = 63) and 36-month old (n = 35), high-familial-risk toddlers with ASD. Hierarchical linear regression results indicated that repetitive sensory-motor was the best predictor of social skills overall. Secondary results indicated that all three RRB subtypes were associated with each subdomain of social skills; however, repetitive sensory-motor was the strongest and most consistent among these effects. While our results suggests a general negative relation of subtypes of RRB to aspects of adaptive social function, repetitive sensory-motor behaviors may be of particular relevance to the development of social skills during toddlerhood.

Keywords: Autism; Insistence on sameness; Repetitive sensory-motor; Restricted repetitive behavior; Self-injurious behavior; Social skills.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Illustration of 4-step hierarchical linear regression
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4. American Psychiatric Publishing; 2000.
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5. American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
    1. Antezana L, Factor RS, Condy EE, Strege MV, Scarpa A, Richey JA. Gender differences in restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests in youth with autism. Autism Research. 2019;12(2):274–283. doi: 10.1002/aur.2049. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Baranek GT. Autism during infancy: A retrospective video analysis of sensory-motor and social behaviors at 9–12 months of age 12. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 1999;29:213–224. doi: 10.1023/A:1023080005650. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bishop SL, Richler J, Lord C. Association between restricted and repetitive behaviors and nonverbal IQ in children with autism spectrum disorders. Child Neuropsychology. 2006;12(4–5):247–267. doi: 10.1080/09297040600630288. - DOI - PubMed