Abstract
A study is presented with a focus on one of the primary symptoms of early infantile autism. Sameness behavior was examined in a group of 32 psychotic children, 29 boys and 3 girls ranging in age from 3 to 11 years. The group included autistic children diagnosed on the basis of Rimland's Check List E-2. The desire for maintenance of sameness was found to be present to a marked degree in the behavior of all autistic children. The intensity of various forms of such behavior varied considerably within the group, but 10 characteristic manifestations were found to discriminate between autistic and non-autistic children. It is suggested that manifestations of sameness behavior may be related to the level of cognitive development in the child.
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Prior, M., Macmillan, M.B. Maintenance of sameness in children with Kanner's syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 3, 154–167 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537990
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537990