Assessing Behavioural Flexibility in Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Researchers associate an insistence of sameness or lack of behavioural flexibility with autism and Asperger syndrome, but few studies have sought to identify specific situations in which individuals insist on sameness. Along these lines, we developed the Behavioural Flexibility Rating Scale (BFRS) and conduted an Internet survey of parents of individuals with autism, Asperger syndrome, and Doen syndrome. A total of 726 respondents submitted usable returns during the 3-month survey period. Parent report indicated that individuals with Asperger syndrome showed the most problems in relation to the insistence on sameness as measured by the BFRS, followed by individuals with autism and Down syndrome, respectively. When diagnosis was controlled, there were no gender or age differences. This preliminary investigation suggests tha the BFRS may be useful in identifying specific situations in which indivudals insist on sameness or show a lack of behavioural flexibility may be useful in planning interventions focused on promoting greater behavioural flexibility.