An Exploration and Analysis of the Functions of Stereotypies in Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Evidence has shown that students with developmental disabilities exhibited high levels of stereotypical behavior. Two hypotheses regarding the functions of students' stereotypies were widely accepted in recent researches. One is homeostatic perspective which contended that such aberrant behaviors became a mechanism for regulating environmental stimulation. The other perspective is operant function which asserted that positive social reinforcement, negative social reinforcement, positive sensory reinforcement, negative sensory reinforcement, or multiply reinforcement may serve to maintain such stereotypical behavior. The purposes of this article were to (1) explore and discuss these functions of stereotypyies exhibited by students with developmental disabilities, and (2) make some suggestions to use positive behavior support program developed from functional analysis to deal with this aberrant behavior.