Stereotyped behaviours as precursors of self-injurious behaviours: a longitudinal study with infants and toddlers at risk for developmental delay.
Stereotypy in 1–3-year-olds at-risk for developmental delay forecasts later self-injury—target stereotypy early to prevent SIB.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Faso et al. (2016) followed 160 babies and toddlers who had developmental delays. The team watched each child for one full year. They counted how much stereotypy each child showed and later checked who developed self-injury.
What they found
Kids who showed more stereotypy early on were the same kids who later hit, bit, or scratched themselves. The link held across the whole year. Stereotypy acted like an early warning flag for self-injury.
How this fits with other research
Capio et al. (2013) saw the same link in older kids with autism, but their snapshot design could not tell us which came first. Faso et al. (2016) used a year-long view and proved stereotypy comes before self-injury.
Martin (1995) showed younger children respond better to stereotypy treatment. The new study gives a reason to start that treatment even earlier—before self-injury starts.
van der Miesen et al. (2024) pooled dozens of single-case studies and found caregiver-run SIB treatments work just as well as clinic-run ones. Taken together, the picture is clear: treat stereotypy early at home and you may never need heavy SIB interventions later.
Why it matters
If you work with infants or toddlers who flap, rock, or spin toys, track those behaviors. When you see high rates, start simple stereotypy interventions now—response blocking, matched stimulation, or enriched play. Parent coaching works; you do not need a clinic. Acting early can keep self-injury from ever showing up.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The notion that stereotypic behaviours may be precursors of self-injurious behaviour (SIB) has been considered in the past, but the available empirical evidence is still inconsistent and ambiguous. METHOD: In a longitudinal study, we collected data on stereotypic behaviour and SIB from 160 infants and toddlers who were at-risk for developmental delay. Interviews were conducted with parents at three time points during a one-year span using the Behaviour Problems Inventory-01 which contains subscales for SIB and stereotyped behaviour. We used growth modelling to estimate linear trends in several models. Model fit was evaluated according to a combination of fit statistics as is recommended in structural equation or latent variable modelling approaches such as latent growth modelling. RESULTS: In examining the relationship between stereotyped behaviours and SIB across time, the model that represented earlier stereotyped behaviour as predicting later SIB fit the data better than the other models. CONCLUSIONS: The findings corroborate the notion that stereotyped behaviour can be a precursor of SIB. If replicated by other studies, it makes a case for considering early intervening with stereotyped behaviour as a SIB prevention strategy.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2016 · doi:10.1111/jir.12224