Parent and professional perspectives on behavioral inflexibility in autism spectrum disorders: A qualitative study.
Chetna Sethi, Clare Harrop, Wanqing Zhang and 3 others
PMID 30394796WHAT IT FOUND
Parents and clinicians described behavioral inflexibility in children with autism as changing with context and age.
They said routines, advance planning, and family flexibility helped, while unexpected changes could trigger distress.
Key findings
01Caregivers and clinicians reported similar issues and concerns about behavioral inflexibility in children with autism.
02Common manifestations included need for consistency, difficulty with environmental changes and transitions, inflexibility in action and cognition, and variability over time.
03Reported strategies included maintaining structure, predictable routines, visual schedules, and having a plan or backup plan.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The focus groups were held at one time point, although participants said inflexibility changes over time. Some group members may have talked more and shaped others' opinions. The sample was high income, with almost 60% of the sample having annual household income over US$90,000. Children's diagnoses were not confirmed with gold standard tools, and questionnaire scores were variable. First-person accounts from children were not collected.
Declared interests
The article is marked as supported by N.I.H. extramural funding. No conflicts of interest statement is included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the routines and planning described by parents and clinicians as evidence that they reduce inflexibility or improve outcomes. The study asked for perspectives and reported themes; it did not test any intervention.