An Empirical Comparison of Common Problem Behavior Among Preschoolers With and Without Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Typical preschoolers show daily challenging behavior too—use these normative rates to decide when intervention is truly needed.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Newcomb et al. (2025) watched preschoolers with and without autism during normal school play. They counted how often each child showed hitting, yelling, or other tough behaviors.
The goal was to learn the everyday rate of these behaviors in both groups. This gives clinicians a yardstick for deciding when behavior is truly above normal.
What they found
Typical kids acted out too, just less often. Children with autism showed more challenging behavior, but the gap shrank as both groups got older.
Knowing the usual rate for three-year-olds helps you spot who really needs an intervention plan.
How this fits with other research
Jahr et al. (2007) ran a similar peer comparison, only they counted social initiations instead of problems. Together the two papers give a full picture: autistic preschoolers both initiate less and act out more than classmates.
Yin et al. (2026) extended the same design by adding a developmental-delay group and looking at play. Their extra group reminds us that not every child who struggles has autism, so check play skills before you label.
Reid et al. (2005) followed older youth for twelve years and saw that early severe behavior plus poor language predicts long-term problems. Newcomb’s age-based norms fit right in: if a four-year-old is already above the autism curve, start language and behavior supports early.
Why it matters
Use these everyday rates to set realistic goals. A typical kindergartner may whine or push twice an hour; aim your intervention just above that baseline, not at zero. Share the numbers with teachers and parents so they know small dips are real progress, not failure.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
ABSTRACT Nearly four decades of research indicates that young children with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) benefit from receiving behavior analysis services during the earliest, critical years of development. Often these services are provided comprehensively, focus heavily on skill‐building in various key domains, and, in some cases, also focus on ameliorating behavior issues that may impede eventual attendance in a traditional kindergarten. Prior research suggests that select circumstances warrant intervening on challenging behavior in the early years, as it offers the benefit of avoiding more severe presentations and social adjustment issues in the later years. However, there is little empirical research guiding practitioners as to what benchmarks and behavioral goals are age‐appropriate, what perceived issues are most relevant to traditional preschool and kindergarten settings, and to what extent these arise in neurotypically developing peers. This observational study was conducted to build a preliminary database of common early childhood behavior problems, compare rates between preschoolers on the autism spectrum and same‐age neurotypical peers, and identify what rates of challenging behavior may be expected in a neurotypical preschool setting. Results indicated that challenging behavior occurred regularly for most neurotypical preschoolers but at relatively lower rates compared to preschoolers with ASD; in addition, that age and combined rates of challenging behavior were negatively correlated for both groups of participants.
Behavioral Interventions, 2025 · doi:10.1002/bin.70037