Atypical behaviors in children with autism and children with a history of language impairment
Section snippets
Atypical eating behavior
Atypical eating behavior occurs so frequently in children with autism (Raiten & Massaro, 1986) that at one time it was included among the diagnostic indicators (Ritvo & Freeman, 1978). The most common feeding problem is excessive food selectivity, by type and texture (Ahearn, Castine, Nault, & Green, 2001; Field, Garland, & Williams, 2003; Williams, Dalrymple, & Neal, 2000). Other abnormalities are rituals surrounding eating and food refusal (Field et al., 2003, Schreck et al., 2004; Williams
Abnormal sleep patterns
Sleep problems are more common in children with developmental disabilities than in typically developing children (Richdale, Francis, Gavidia-Payne, & Cotton, 2000). Among developmentally disabled children, sleep problems tend to be more common in younger children and are associated with self-injury, aggression, screaming, tantrums, noncompliance, and impulsivity (Clements, Wing, & Dunn, 1986; Wiggs & Stores, 1996). It is unknown whether these associations occur in children with autism as well.
Self-injurious behavior
Self-injurious behavior has been studied extensively in children with mental retardation, but less research has been conducted on children with autism (Oswald, Ellis, Singh, Singh, & Matson, 1994). McClintock, Hall, and Oliver (2003) found that self-injurious behavior was related to both receptive and expressive communication in a meta-analysis of studies on challenging behaviors in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Among people with mental retardation, autistic features may be
Aggression
In children with mental retardation, aggression is related to gender, age and expressive communication (Ando & Yoshimura, 1978; McClintock et al., 2003). There are numerous anecdotal reports of violence and aggression in people with autism spectrum disorders, particularly Asperger's syndrome, but little systematic research concerning its frequency and character has been published (Baron-Cohen, 1988, Kohn et al., 1998; Mawson, Grounds, & Tantam, 1985). The limited studies suggest that among
Temper tantrums
Research on typically developing children has shown that temper tantrums are most common in young children and decrease in frequency with age (Bhatia et al., 1990; for review, see Leung & Fagan, 1991). Few studies have addressed temper tantrums specifically among children with autism, as most of the research on problem behaviors in individuals with autism or mental retardation has focused on aggression and destruction of property (e.g., Applegate, Matson, & Cherry, 1999; Dawson, Matson, &
Participants
Participants in this study included 107 children: 39 children with a history of HLI and 67 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). All the children were recruited and tested at the Boston CPEA site, as part of a larger program project. Children in both groups ranged in age from 4 years 2 months to 14 years 2 months.
Prevalence of atypical behaviors
Table 4 presents the frequency of each atypical behavior among the ASD and HLI children. All of the atypical behaviors examined in this study occurred more frequently in children with ASD than in children with HLI. The difference in frequency was significant for atypical eating behavior (χ2 = 32.3, p < 0.001), abnormal sleep patterns (χ2 = 4.9, p = 0.03), temper tantrums (χ2 = 19.5, p < 0.001) and self-injurious behavior (χ2 = 6.4, p = 0.01). The groups were not significantly different in the frequency of
Discussion
In this study, we asked parents of children who had either autism or a history of HLI about five abnormal behaviors that are common among children with autism. Four of the five behaviors (i.e., atypical eating behavior, abnormal sleep patterns, temper tantrums, and self-injurious behavior) were significantly more common in the children with autism than those with HLI. Rates of aggression were increased in the ASD children, but group differences did not reach significance. It is possible that
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants from and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorder (U19 DC 03610, Boston University School of Medicine; PO1 HD35476, University of Utah) which are part of the NICHD/NIDCD Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism, as well as by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (F30 NS048615). We are grateful to Robert Joseph, Susan Bacalman, Gail Andrick, Anne Lantz Gavin, Shelly Steele, Laura Becker, Margaret
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