Variation in restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests relates to inhibitory control and shifting in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Susan Faja, Laura Nelson Darling
PMID 30394786WHAT IT FOUND
Children with autism who showed more restricted interests and rituals also had more trouble ignoring conflicting cues on a Stroop task and more parent-reported difficulty shifting.
Both abilities were linked independently of age and IQ.
Key findings
01Stroop interference control was related to higher-order restricted and repetitive interests, r(93)=.258, p=.013, but not to sensorimotor restricted and repetitive behaviors, p=.63.
02Parent-reported difficulty shifting was related to higher-order restricted and repetitive interests, r(101)=.295, p=.003, and remained significant after age and IQ were controlled.
03More sensorimotor restricted and repetitive behaviors were related to lower proactive inhibition on the Change Task, r(93)=-.301, p=.003.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study measured children at one time point, so it cannot show whether executive function problems cause restricted and repetitive behaviors or develop alongside them. The sample included only verbally fluent children with cognitive ability of 80 or above, so it does not speak to children with autism who have intellectual disability or limited language. Very few girls were included, and the sample was too small to examine sex differences. The executive function battery focused mainly on inhibition and some flexibility, and did not include more traditional set-shifting or reversal-learning tasks. The parent-report BRIEF may overlap with restricted and repetitive behavior items, so some shared measurement could inflate associations. The restricted and repetitive behavior composites included lifetime information from the ADI-R, which may not match current behavior during testing.
Declared interests
The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research support. The authors report no conflicts or competing financial interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving executive function will reduce restricted and repetitive behaviors. This was a cross-sectional association, not an intervention test.