The early development of stereotypy and self-injury: a review of research methods.
BACKGROUND
The origin and developmental course of stereotypic and self-injurious behaviour among individuals with developmental disabilities such as intellectual disability (ID) or pervasive development disorders such as autism is not well understood.


METHODS
Twelve studies designed to document the prevalence, nature, or development of stereotypic and/or self-injurious behaviour in children under 5 years of age and identified as at risk for developmental delay or disability were reviewed. Comparisons were made with similar studies with typically developing children.


RESULTS
It appears that the onset of naturally occurring rhythmic motor stereotypies is delayed in young at-risk children, but that the sequencing may be similar. A very small database, differences in samples, measures, and designs limited the degree to which comparisons could be made across studies.


CONCLUSIONS
Future work is needed based on appropriately designed prospective comparison studies and uniform quantitative measures to provide an empirical basis for new knowledge about the early development of one of the most serious behaviour disorders afflicting children with ID and related problems of development.
Symons
F J
FJ
Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, 238 Burton Hall 178 Pillsbury Drive, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. symonoo7@umn.edu
Sperry
L A
LA
Dropik
P L
PL
Bodfish
J W
JW
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019956:Stereotypic Movement Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*