The association between repetitive behaviours, impulsivity and hyperactivity in people with intellectual disability.
The TAQ gives caregivers a quick, reliable way to rate overactivity and impulsivity in adults with ID and flags those who also show more repetitive behaviors.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a new rating scale called the TAQ. It tracks overactivity, impulsivity and impulsive speech in people with intellectual disability.
Caregivers fill out the 25-item checklist. The study tested if the items group into clean factors and if scores link with repetitive behaviors.
What they found
The TAQ factors held together well. Higher over-activity and impulsivity scores went hand-in-hand with more repetitive behaviors.
The scale looks reliable, but the authors warn that more validity work is still needed before you bet the farm on it.
How this fits with other research
Schaaf et al. (2015) later did the same kind of work for kids. Their SAID scale also gives teachers a quick way to flag ADHD-type attention problems in students with ID.
Matson et al. (2004) came first. They showed that existing teacher scales, especially the ABC-C, already work in kids with ID. The TAQ now offers a fresh tool that focuses squarely on hyperactivity and impulsivity rather than general attention.
Sajith et al. (2008) tried the CAARS in adults with ID and found about one in five screened positive for ADHD. The TAQ fills the same adult niche but is shorter and centers on the behaviors you see most in day programs.
Why it matters
You now have a brief caregiver scale that targets the restless, jump-up behaviors common in adult ID services. Use it as a first pass to spot people who might need a full ADHD work-up or behavior plan. Pair TAQ data with your ABC-C or SAID results to build a fuller picture without extra testing time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a need for assessments of psychological difference and disorder in people who have more severe intellectual disability (ID). Hyperactivity and impulsivity are two behavioural domains of importance as they are correlated with self-injury and aggression and this alludes to a shared cognitive correlate of compromised behavioural inhibition. Additionally, compromised behavioural inhibition is demonstrably related to repetitive behaviour and the latter might be expected to be associated with impulsivity and hyperactivity. METHODS: The Activity Questionnaire (TAQ) was developed for this study. Three sub-scales with high levels of face validity were supported by factor analysis of the scoring of 755 intellectually disabled participants on the TAQ items. These sub-scales mapped onto the constructs of Overactivity, Impulsivity and Impulsive Speech. Test-retest, inter-rater reliability and internal consistency were robust. TAQ scores and scores on the Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire (RBQ) were collected for a sample of 136 participants with varying degrees of ID. RESULTS: Scores on the TAQ at sub-scale and full-scale level were not related to level of adaptive functioning. There were significant positive associations between overactivity (TAQ) and stereotyped behaviour (RBQ), impulsivity (TAQ) and restricted preferences (RBQ), and impulsive speech (TAQ) and repetitive speech (RBQ). CONCLUSIONS: The TAQ is a reliable assessment of hyperactivity and impulsivity for people with ID with robust factor structure. Validity requires evaluation. The relationship between impulsivity and restricted preferences may result from a common cognitive impairment in inhibition, which may underpin these two classes of behaviour.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2010 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01338.x