Persistence of early emerging aberrant behavior in children with developmental disabilities.
Early severe behaviors in preschoolers with DD usually stay put without quick, strong home help.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Nevin et al. (2005) watched 13 preschoolers with developmental disabilities for three years.
The team tracked how early problem behaviors changed as the kids grew.
Nine of the children still showed the same high levels of hitting, yelling, or self-injury at the end.
What they found
Most kids kept the same tough behaviors they had at age three.
Without strong early help at home, the problems stayed put.
How this fits with other research
Gray et al. (2012) seems to disagree. They saw small gains in behavior over 18 years. The gap is about age and time: A et al. started younger and looked only three years out, while Kylie et al. followed people into adulthood.
Dumont et al. (2014) add that for children with ASD, conduct problems stick around no matter the home risk level. A et al. did not split by diagnosis, so Eric et al. sharpen the warning: plan long support for ASD in particular.
Gallagher et al. (2018) carry the story forward. They show that when child behaviors stay flat, parent depression rises. The chain is clear: early stable problems → ongoing stress at home.
Why it matters
If you see big problem behaviors in a three-year-old with DD, do not wait for them to fade. Start a full home-based plan now. Track both child and parent mood; the same behaviors that linger can drag caregivers down. Re-assess every six months and keep teaching replacement skills until data show real change.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Pull your youngest clients’ baseline graphs—if no clear downward trend after three months, add more parent coaching and increase daily practice time.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined the persistence of early emerging aberrant behavior in 13 preschool children with developmental disabilities. The severity of aberrant behavior was assessed every 6 months over a 3-year period. Teachers completed the assessments using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist [Aman, M. G., & Singh, N. N. (1986). Aberrant Behavior Checklist: Manual. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications; (1994). Aberrant Behavior Checklist--Community. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications]. Problem behaviors were present in all children at the beginning of the study. Nine of the 13 children entered the study with relatively high levels of aberrant behaviors that showed little change over the 3 years. These data suggest that aberrant behaviors often emerge early and can be highly persistent during the preschool years. Prevention would, therefore, seem to require home-based interventions that begin before 4 years of age.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2005 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.07.003