Assessment of Challenging Behaviors in People with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Publisher Summary Children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at much greater risk of showing a wide range of challenging behavior (CB) than typically developing people. This chapter reviews various aspects of assessment of CB. These include the reasons for assessment, assessment of topographies, and assessment of function and its implications for treatment. Common problems including aggression, stereotypy, and eating problems in people with ASD are also reviewed. Of most immediate concern are extra-personal maladaptive behaviors, such as aggression and tantrums, because of their negative and sometimes severe consequences for the person and those around them. Intra-personal maladaptive behaviors may also be significant as they may be stigmatizing and may interfere with learning and the expression of adaptive behavior. There are many psychometric measures to assess CB topographies. They can be quick and efficient in the early stages of assessing CB, in screening larger populations, and in periodic screening of individuals, such as during admission to services and annual evaluations. The CB topographies can be readily assessed with screening questionnaires, but these questionnaires are limited in that they do not provide all the information necessary to design an effective intervention plan. Information regarding the establishing operations (Eos), discriminative stimuli, functionally equivalent adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, and contingencies maintaining the CB greatly improve the design of an effective treatment plan. Despite the efficacy of this approach to treatment of CB in people with ASD, certain problems, such as pica, remain more difficult to treat. Additionally, more research involving the dissemination of this technology to routine care providers and practitioners is needed.