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A limited set or limited number of interests and/or activities. Restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors comprise one of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorders (APA 2013). The restricted interests may be simple motor stereotypies (i.e., lining up objects), echolalia (i.e., repetition of words or phrases), insistence on sameness (i.e., non-varied food or clothes), inflexible adherence to routines (i.e., same routes or schedules), highly restricted fixated interests (i.e., a narrow or limited range of items that hold the individual’s interest), and hyper- or hypo-activity to sensory input (i.e., such as sounds, textures, lights, smell) (APA 2013).
Restrictive and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) in ASD can range from extreme and obvious to subtle and infrequent (Bernier 2014). Restricted interests can be seen in children as young as 17–37 months old (Matston et al. 2009). They are pervasive and can be...
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References and Reading
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Kimhi, Y. (2018). Restricted Interest. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102-3
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