Eda:

Dr' 'h.

I -s ' rchl aT:11 n I t l r .eSS a-d iv ler , 'a1 i {endrcrn i -LOIQ',

F.E. .Ta.nes and R.P. Snai th,

Gaskel l "

CHAPTER 10

I

J. RICHER

rntroduction *,J$T$":lnFill ,ffi!Fi'l!i".!l;Ethology has been defined as the 'biological* fi; t*dy ir *tni"'v retarded individuals whose

stuJy or f,.na"iour (TililG";rrA1,Etffi n"m"*ln*:xplrimentar *"::.*' is orten

O."uiop.a as a branch of zoology' and des

earrv work by Darwrn and a few o*rrr, Jii -.q

T -*t1;' to explain behaviour the

became a disciprine "

ilril-righ, *.rrh fi, ethologist.rtr iout typrs of question (Tinbergen'

*#ll*#ti:n:x":tl"{;1!:H,TJ!i l]!ii,^:"'""""n' or question concerns thedeveloped a fruitful fara{iern .t<"rg'- 16?il

irnmediate td;i controls of behaviour' The

that owes much to its zoological "nrinr"

tt""rJ tiLttt of -prior

events and previous states arc

recently this paradig* tg, u.rn "nrrg.ti"'ii|

it",,tig"tto- to $ve clues about common mot!

applied to the behavlour of our own ,p..i."]il'a vation]ttre wayi'ehaviour clusters in time is often

is beginning to yield ";;;i;iAuaule

insights' reeordedo.ond type of question concerns the

A tlifficulty in observing hulan behaviour' is tnt'it Ju"itt"i"li' the behaviour now acting as a

that we are so famili"' t"iti' it that we sften fail lll*' ;;;'trl""it'"r behaviour have sigrificance

to record common '[ti

]tp"nant aspecls" 'Pd i"il-"t'"i uut when studying psychiatric groups

concentrate on the *;t:"tl;i;izarre'ln 1!aitr3n # il';;;ilio nnaln*ua^ptive' as well

we already have .;il;iJate; chsfficatll 1r""ffi,i".,;;;;;;;'s of behaviour' Kendell

scheme for describint it"ti"ilti'Tti"*".,,il:""'tv' irsiii it"t nJiti-ittai a wiot range of mental

day language; trris fras lead many psychoiogisis l'il#:r; ^t".r*a with increased mortality

i"'Urp* obsenation and- go. straight int9. hVlto- and decreased fertility.

thesis testing. untoaunattty-ttti' language is ofien *'*ti'*Jti'o

typ" oi-qutttion'corcems the onto'

inferential *a u*uiilCr. for scientific use. genedc ,rp".tl'of the behaviour' The complex

There is no such thing as_ purely .objective i:':l:f.11,^*"i ; individual's behaviour is

observation (Medawar, 1967); alr otr.*rtioiillrri :**d--I"," littn' investigations of mentaliv

be selective (Tinbergen, i963) vet' " t"""'i11 ii" li*:"n^ltu .11t::t;n:":fftXil#t*J,1l+i,

ffi#*Tt-''f;:" ;i;n'* :i!"j' n:: H# *x "*, *'--" d;;'T 1i" in dividuar' which is

behaviour in simpie non'inferenti'f t"'** '*"- often much *o" irnportant when planning

p"# ;ii[ili t *##.J,t".1"#"i. $ il'" :fiih*',s?r$'ir;tion^conce rns the evoru'

controlled laboratory environments' i: ;;i g* :i

aparticutu uehaviour' Current evolutionary

experimental p*y"iottgir* have done,.thol";; the?ry tt d;"".*,jiil-u gtnt seiection model of

orten prerer ," ,"il"iT* ,ier,t p.i,",uJ:ffH **ll;-Si;"H:ffirJiJ3g1'"',",'#;"1;:ff";15,'::g#":"ff:'H.";T.ffi1tr"*.#l::lfr ffi #'mh*tt"l*f T'ff iftrifti .*" in the medical literature'

Human Ethology and Mental llandicap

103

4i'*. IEr

i t104

ETTIOLOGY AND MENTAL HANDICAP i*

!

ffn":"r:liT:'s il:ffii:T.l"1iii;1''li H*f;i1,:ffiiiii{:'${'g'tr#li;ffi.*ln- man^ this. situation is complicatto,JJ' *itn 6ttit sucJessful p'ttfo*1:"^t:'

*i,i,.,,,*:*i.11:-d-,'*lUl-1ffi,.]il ;:il; (3) yl:g*... ;iil;i$h::T'11 -activities (rin'

;i"s cau"a'.,,rtu,.', lii,i"{,"-*:n:Xfl,ffi '' !3rsen, .t;;it,* ;ft,rhi1,i,I"",ffi*;;;;"t other species' It is extra'Beoetrce *:T-1^,!1;"t

to the ongoing Tl;t, *i to

i, p**a on via processes such 8s colTlrrluol€hrrw ttt tl*,',*ch may be deducec ror them.

;5*t n",i"n. its evolution is I-a11cna^' -' any goal *

il.;;il;hr,.t,,il;;;#worution (-) tql;jf.[nt"T;i,"ffi-;r,::"ffi::'i::

someAppricationsor'lrTEtholopffl-" C***%-'ffi1f""lill$tf"'iiifirppi"""n.i i" ,r," si"iv ois.,u,,o,m"t ch'dren

hrJklj*,ntf illl:T,li"1.tTti;problems in mental hurdicap, Itk::l :tt^I:: .i"itl"*titt does not ea1it1 disrupt per'

problem, have to^ ii ,*o'"a'6.Y q' T':1*: ;;;;;;','d"'"ftttot predictable feedback'

",,t,, ;,: *::: j*I*Tffi1.{":fr' f ffi;t f:k*U,9"'.'"? :'#l,T: .il."'L:l$;illustrates the ethologrc- l-li^11,..it""-*itt *,rt. i'ii:'".1-"rr"*n"r.describing ,o*, o':?y o'"n studitt'Y.lth *1t: fiftle ex'afference'

,.,*o.J-."t,:,r,..r',ri'J"'thes9 a1e:ql:'Ll.'* , "?fi'i:iiT ,',*ll,'i:t*:U: ::t:,:::"&S:

S'ffi:",'J-11sH:ll",l"-):ffi ;il'$ii:i:f .*trJT.'ii::'*rJ",ll1",'J'xfilii"'i" ,"p*,lll"ii,u'.,i1#:l'.i:,,i!--ili H;H:.'i.;;u;;;,, and it.is dirncult to see

and communicatrotii,,n,er*rj*"'l::lliji'$:U*';*:'fm-;"-:f*tl'L*::""Tff 'HilhJl':observations and qa* are .u '"--'

l,t"*t:l:.6i'^**o defining a stereotypy are'wise referenced'

:i?ta.:Hjl Jr"J*rrotvpies -are just extremes or

Srcreotypies normal stereotvped behaviour'

The frequency with which autisti_c- q*: '-?;"it..i'"lt"t*ti"" it lll"t*t

that stereo'

oerform a class "r iliii*io','i't*t1-'r":torlpies rvpies' ur-l""i"pi"ie1en't lltfties'

invariablv

lll"'"1'*-;'rg.fJ"-trt*;it'*#i$ifljfu rt.1:F#:'$-'"ff u,;;''"'?xTl'tdiaenostic cnterl

ctiak etat, rsoi; roivin, rgzr). "_r,1

*+ ft ;;;;;fir.r"i"' t'nnict -and thwarting in

(leds) defined "'r'r.rlo,inv ,, 'ih. I:nit'qon'.i' "'iirri. 'd;*:jJj;ffi#Ir"rt):"!{lir.#:

liST##;-;;::1;"1*ilrff Tl:lT.,ii$it'."""ffi "#,,*'i''n''*lf iLii,t***;

of autistic *u [i"'"rioiri ;rttr^4111;,behaviour ;i tt" conflicting activities' *t ;;;il "tppt""tr'

$tuiT'J".Tl3"El"[:i,ii::L:i,xlxT."Jfi :*n:*ff xT,ih.".ililJ;;ralierna,ecaned stereorvp*r. iir.* lniaige Hutt ild Hutt\ ;i";;;t^';Jtt"toutrv

*'tetession to more

description: es' These enlarge Huu

i'r"niit. ;r;;;;t, "t lT.*glt'v' or re'directeo

(r) Repetition. Approximaterv the same move' ;'n::::1.{irftlrruU:;tJt"i"ftT:1ments *' t["nir;. ;;i::^',*" *t{:.'

,tl;l ""Hiili"';;n;;;",,. rn y'g,111to thwarting too'occur on repeated occasrons'

-t::""';; itt"tt t* also be investi'atlon'o 'stereotypy i,?v""n.i,i,i r* ronge, th"n riu' *ffii.lil:it *ttfi+f,*"tff'::il-;:years'

(2) Environmentar independence -:J::'"".',t,tJn " '::f::tT""T#"XffTlt;:';i';'p""r'

or

require a few environmental Pr

interCert.typi(ChaputaObstoccuchilcacbehtincrrcallebiguanolchil

rwhethator iarethe(1e'(stechilthe'reP(chil

(1)

Q)(3)

(4)

chiinit(H'useinisitttylstede,gir1i1ofWC

J. RICIIER

:-;.--

intensity just before the consummatory act.Certain behayiours typically accompany st"reo-typies, the most common being cut-off acts(Chance, 1962). These cut down input fromputative environmental causes of the stireotypy.Observing when stereotypies and cut-off actsoccur and intensify can give valuable clues to achild's motivational state. For autistic child.rena

-conmon precipitant of stereotypies is the

behaviour of other people: stereotypies start orh-".r.l*- in intensity when the child ii-approached,called, looked at or asked to do somiihing am_biguous. Sometimes the slightest movement ofanother person starts a stereotypy, indicating thechild's extreme vigilance.

From the assertion that stereotypies occurwhen a child is thwarted or in conflili it folor"sthat they should be more frequent during failureor in a novel situation. Conversely, steriotypiesare less frequent in familiar situations and duringthe successful performance of an activity. Churchill(1971) has reported that self.stimulatinj behaviours(stereotypies) are more frequent wf,en autisticchildren are failing at a task, iompared with whenthey are succeeding. Elsewhere (Richer, lg74) Ireported four situations in which the autisticchild shows increase d stereotypies :(l) When he is thwarted compared to when he

is not.(2) When he is attempting an insoluble problem.(3) When he is not eating (eating being a success-

fully performed activity.(a) The same as above but allowance is made

for the impossibility of eating whilst carryingout certain stereotypies.

Two studies have showed that the autisticchild's frequency of stereotypies declines as aninitially novel situation becomes more familiar(Hutt, 1959; Richer and Coss, 1976). Both studiesused long sampling periods and so missed theinitial, sometimes fleeting, visual survey of thesituation, and this momentarily inhibits stereo_typies. After further exposure to the novel situationstereotypies again occur for a while before thevdecline. An example of this: a firre year old autistitgirl was performing typical .puppet wobble' with'lip flick' when a live hamster was placed in frontof her for the frst time" She immediately stoppedwobbling and gazed at the animal for a short

period but then resumed her wobbling withincreased vigour. The second presentationif theanimal some minutes later only led to an inten-sification of her wobbling.

S$ce input from thwarting and conflict,novelty and ditficulty, is uipredicted withrespect to the ongoing activity, we may concludettlat stereotypies occur when input in unpredicted,(i.e" ex-afference). When

"onsid"ring tir. .onru-

qusrc€s of behaviour it has already been pointedout that psychiatric groups may show someconsequenceS which are not adaptive and this iscertainly the case with stereotypies. Firstly, Ishall describe an adaptive funciion and itrensome maladaptive consequences.

An adaptive function of stereotypies is, Isuggest, .to generate predictable feedback (re-afference) when feedback was unpredicted (Lx_afference). The exact nature of the feedback isunimportant since stereotypies are irrelevant.But why is there a need to produce pred.ictablefeedback? One answer is that if individuals didnot, their behaviour could not be goal directed,it would be non-adaptive and their genes wouldsoon drop out of the gene pool. Another answerconcerns the putative physiological system in.volved. Hutt and Hutt (1970) suggest that stereo-

ex-afference

Il .

arousal

Figure L lllustation of the hypothesized relation-ships between re<fference, ex-afference, rewatd

and punishment meclwnisms, and arous,I

re-afference

IIln

#lr l1 i

tifiFi

l l

106 ETHOLOCY AND MENTAI HANDICAP

typies diminish arousal in autistic children. Delius(1967) proposed a similar function for displace'ment activities, which indeed seem causally andfunctionally similar to stereotypies (Hutt and Hutt,1970). The 'de-arousing' function may be effectivevia the mechanism variously called the 'reward/punishment' mechanism (Miller, 1963),'go/stop'mechanism (Stein, 1964) or the 'reward/fear'frustration' mechanism (Gray, 1967). Both Miller(1963) and hibram (1963) argue that expectedfeedback (re-afference) activates the 'reward' or

'go' mechanism. Gray (1967) contends that whenfrustrated (receiving ex-afference) an individual's'punishment' or 'stop' system is activated (Figure

I). At least in states ofover-arousal the reward (orgo) mechanism reduces arousal, and the punish'

ment (or fear or stop) mechanism increases arousal(Olds er al., 1960; Routtenberg,1967).

This- general picture seenis plausible frombther evidence. The orientation reaction (to novelinput) involves increased sympathetic and corticalarousal (Sokolov, 1953; Lynn, 1966). Germana(1969) argues that arousal is often increased ilthe first stages of learning new activities, i.e.when there is more ex-afference, but is lower whsalan activity is well learnt, i.e. when there is mainlyre-afference. Although speculative, these argumenrsuggest that stereotypies produce re-afference'reward or go mechanism activation and arousalreduction, at times when there was mainly ex-afference, punishment or go mechanism activa-tion and over-arousal. By reducing arousal ancstop mechanism activity, or at least trying toprevent further increases in it, stereotypies mayprevent sympathetic autonomic system exhauinon-Tinbergen (1952) saw displacement activities asa safety valve. In addition they perhaps allow morecomplex adaptive behaviours to be performedin the less aroused state and, when performedwith an activity which is in con{lict with otheractivities, they allow that activity to remain'switched in' because the 'stop' mechanism doesnot predominate over the 'go' mechanism.

Clearly stereotypies are not the only means ofreducing arousal and cutoff acts have already beendiscused in this respect. Any successful activitycould reduce arousal r.ir states of over'arousal,and stereotypies are, in one sense, just anothersuccessful activity. They are well suited to thisfunction since they are characterized fintly

by simplicity, which means they are some of the

few patterns of behaviours which can be performed

efficiently in states of high arousal (Duffy, 1957;

Malmo, 1959), and secondly by irrelevance and

environmental independence which means they

may serve as arousal reducers in a wide variety of

situations. This organism adjusting role is a major

adaptive function of stereotypies.A maladaptive effect of frequent higltly stereo-

typed behaviour is on development, since adapta'

tion to environmental demands or specificmotivations so often takes second place to the

need for immediate predictability- At the very

time new adaptive behaviour might be leamt,

namely when the situation is novel or unpredicted,autistic children have a greater tendency thannormal children to perform stereotyped behaviour,instead of exploring or developing new strategies;hence, as would be expected, children with more

stereotyped behaviour are also more retarded.

Hutt and Hutt (1970) found that autistic chjldrenwithout stereotypies have a better prognosis" Prior

and MacMillan (1973) report that psychotic child-

ren showing mainly obsessional behaviour and few

stereotypies are less retarded than those showingfrequent stereotypies. Wing (1977) found that the

most retarded autistic children in her sample had

freguent simple stereotypies, whereas the less

retarded children tended to show elaborate

routines.These, then are some causes and effects of

stereotypies in autistic children, I shall not discustheir ontogeny or evolution.

Stereotypies occur in groups of severely sub'normal individuals other than those with earlyinfantile autism. Berkson and his colleaguesdescribed stereotyped movements in mentaldefectives from 11 months to 54 years (Berkson

and Davenport, 1962). Thedata of Berkson (1967)

and my own observations sugest that the stereo'typed behaviours of non-autistic subnormals are,

as with autistic children, increased by novelty,stress events and a dearth of available activities(boredom) and are decreased by alternaiiveactlvities within the individual's competence'Hutt and Hutt (1970) have drawn attention to

some differences between the stereotypies ot non'

autistic mental defectives and autistic children'For instance, in mental defectives, stereotyPiesare usually slower and shorter. They note that'

/ - ;

in conare mto onrthat rdifferestereoland ccautistiravoid :showbut otmotivatate Stand Hrgroupscan be

Comm

Difproblewith rdepencindiyidcan brinfluenre12)and sor(Blurtca typrdirecteis pausa messipausingthis inbehavicof life (

Onesharedmotheractionsto therleTs).pointsagent band soc1975; FcommuJones (is its cr

::tr-i:.

J. RICHER t07in contrast to autistic children, their stereotypiesare more frequent in an empty room comparedto one with a person in it. It appears, however,that differences such as these depend not ondifferences in the nature, causes and function ofstereotypies, but on differences in motivationand competence between the groups. For instance,autistic children are predominantly motivated toavoid social interactions (Richer, 1976),thus theyshow stereotypies when someone approaches,but other mental defectives are not so avoidancemotivated so that approaches often do not precipi-tate stereotypies and sometimes stop them (Huttand Hutt, l97O). However, more data on variousgroups must be collected before these assertionscan be made confidently.

Communication

Difficuities in communication po$e seriousproblems for people working in direct contactwith mute subnormal individuals as social lifedepends upon communication. In ethology twoindividuals are said to have communicated if itcan be shown ttrat the behayiour of one hasinfluenced the behaviour of the other (Cullen-1972) and in this sense the terms communicationand social behaviour become virtually synonymous(Blurton Jones, 1976). It is useful to d"istineuisha type of communicative behayiour. nalelvdirected communication. Its behavioural definitionis pausing and attending to the other after sendinga message. ln humans this often takes the form ofpausing and looking" Kendon (1967) has describedthis in conversations between aduits, and it is abehaviour pattern which develops in the fust yearof life (Bruner,1975).

One of the ways in which infants negotiateshared understandings or meanings with theirmothers or other adults is in tum-taking inter-actions such as these. Their culture is transmittedto them in such exchanges (Newson and Newson,1975). Unfortunately the confusion of the view-points of passive onlooker and actiye insider oragent bedevils research on humarucommunicationand social behayiour (Harris, 1968; Blurton Jones,1975 ; Richer , 197 5). The passive onlooker observescommunication. From this viewpoint BlurtonJones (1972) has noted the meaning of a signalis its causes and effects, and to discover this we

look firstly at the behaviout and motiyations ofsenders and receivers.

Taking the agent's viewpoint, on the otherhand, there are three senses of meaning. Themeaning intended by the sender, the meaningundentood by the receiver and, tn the case ofwords and other symbols, the conventionallyunderstood meaning (Lyons, 1972; MacKay,1972). The concordance of the first two jsachieved by negotiation, such that the meaningis shared. The use of symbols greatly facilitatesand enlarges this" Meanings, from this viewpointare what the people who use them agree they are,But" as Cullen (1972) argues, it is difficult to seehow the agent's sense of meaning could be studiedscientifically. Thus, great care needs to be takennot to'confuse these two viewpoints in communica-tion research. Unfortunately studies of thecornmunication pf autistic children are usuallyfraught with this confusion.

Autistic children have often been describedas'noncommunicating' and certain theorists havesugested that they fail to comprehend language,symbois, gestures and other non-verbal signals,and rhar this is a 'primary' handicap (Rutter,1974; Wing, 1977). This position has two weak-nesses: firstly terms like 'comprehension, areused which embraces the agent's viewpoint;secondly these theories are at best re.descriptionsof some aspects of the autistic child's behiviouranc! say nothing about the aetiology of autism,or the mechanisms operating in the disorder.However, they concentrate work on an importantaspect of the autistic child's behaviour, namelyrare and unconventional use of language andother deficiencies in communication skills (Rutter.r974).

From direct observation of the autistic child'ssocial behaviour it is clear that they communicatein the sense that they react non-randomly tocertain behaviours by others and, conversely,that others react non-randomly to them. However,their sociai behaviour is characterized by a pre-dominance of avoidance behaviour; they avoidor escape from social interactions much more thannon-autistic children (Richer, 1976'). Autisricchildren sometimes make social approaches, butthese are usually accompanied by some avoidanceaspects so that their behaviour in social inter-actions is often characterized by intense conflict,

ET}IOLOGY AND MENTAL HANDICAP108

and frequently stereotypies are observed' From

observation of autistic children under two yean

old, and from reports of their mothers, there is

evidence that this predominant avoidance has

existed from an early age. Some immediate factorsaffecting avoidance are as follows:

(1) Avoiclance is more probable ry* moredifficult or uncertain activities (Churchill,re71).

(2) Avoidance is more probable when the other

person is:

(a) looking at the child compared to not

looking (Hutt and Ounsted, 1970; Richerand Coss, 1976);

(b) reactive to the child compared to less

There is also a paradoxical effect where intense

or prolonged social approach leads eventually to

the child'J adopting approach behavioun (Richer,

t914,1977b).

To try and explain why autistic children rarely

speat< oi sigral in usually accepted ways w9 might

ti*ply argue that they are inhibited from doing so

by -

excessive avoidance motivation. Certaidy'

supposedly mute autistic children have besa

neaia to say words when their other behaviour

is sociable too and the speech of speaking audsijc

children becomes less characteristically autistic

when they are more sociable. But the inhibition

of speech or signalling is only a small part of -the

story, and we must consider those interactions in

whiih directed communication takes placs and in

which communicative competence is acquired'

In this respect two aspects of the autistic cbjld's

communicition behaviour will be discussed:

(i) behaviour in directed communication inter-

"itiont anil (ii) their relative failure to leam

communication skills, especially language'Drected communication interactions are char-

acteized by turn'taking and by pausing and

looking at the other Person at the end of a tum

(Kendin, 1967; Newson and Newson, 1975)'

t)nt p"*on (A) directs a signal to the other

p"rrott (B) and then pauses and looks at B, waiting

ior the-riply" Then'B replies, often in the full

glare of A's g"ze, and himself then pauses and

iooks at A. Let us examine this interaction to

see why autistic children should especially avoid

it. The changeover point between A's and B's

turns is crucial; for each ParticiPant it is one of

modmum uncertainty relative to the rest of the

interaction. A is uncertain of B's reply so he looks

for it, and B is uncertain of what to reply' Suppose

an autistic child were the fust person (A) in the

interaction (an uncommon event). After some

sociable behaviour he ought to look at B to get

feedback and to sigtal 'its your turn now" But

this is not only a time of uncertainty, which is

an immediate causal factor promoting avoidance'

but also the other Person is being reactive, i'e' he

is replying, which is an activity that further pro'

motes- au-oid"n.". This was supported by the

results of a study of autistic and non'autistic

children who were video-taped with their class

teachers; it was found that autistic children tended

to avoid after behaving sociably or doing the

required task, whereas non'autistic children tended

to look at the teacher or make some other approach(Richer, 1977a). Suppose now' as is more usually

itt. ."t.. that an autistic child is the second

person (B) in the communication interaction

and that-he has been approached and now it is

his turn to reply. At this changeover point there is

not only uncertainty but also the child is being

Iooked it *hi.h further promotes avoidance' ln

the same study of autistic and non'autistic child'

ren with their teachers it was found that, whether

all a teacher's approaches to a child or only her

looks at him were analysed, they tended to be

followed by the autistic child orienting away

and by the non-autistic children orienting towards

the teacher.The main point I want to make is that tum'

taking, uncertainty, looking and reactivenes

are characteristic of directed communication

interactions and make them a type of social

encounter which autistic children are very likely

to avoid. ln my view the avoidance of these

interactions retards the autistic child's acquisition

of language and other communication and co-

operation skills. This relative communicative

incompetence in turn makes communicating

interaitions difficult, which means that avoidance

is not diminished by interactions becoming easier'

A correlation would therefore be expected bet'

ween degree of social contact and language

developmlnt and this was found by Wing (1977)'

s.t"i (1975) describes ma{ry processes by-which

a child pto.eldt from pre-speech communication

ri'

+*

to lanimpair.avoida:here, lsocialyear. Ieye,to-by thttasksattentias thestive cotherswordsautistiand ttren vor'at Itherebhaviotencoustandiinstanacquircoope

Thlimite!nfereinveslinactiortype(in arreducfuncllittleeffecrestfiindivit ishasas into trryPeandpossl

l.'' ii-_\r-w

. ' - ' .>?4@

, j { :ti::i l l1i

. r l l

109

tr: .$ 'E.

":;.*i,*i{

n''t.

g

'.ir

..$

.sF

$.,

..;. ' '::,--=

.::. - ;

J. RICITER

)ne ofof therlooksrPposein thesolne r

to getl'. Buthich isidance,i.e. heeI PIO-)Y thelutisticir classtendedng thetendedrProachusuallYsecond

)raction:w it isthere isis beingrnce. Inic child-whetherrnly herri to betg awaytowards

lat tum-ctivenessrnicationlf socialiry likely

Pr. t:h:segu$ruon

I and co-

ittT..l]"uPrucaung

to language. Many of these processes will be

impaired by an autistic child's predominant

avoidance, but I shall not discuss each in detailhere, save to mention the 'reciprocal mode' of

social behaviour s€en towards the end of the fustyear. In this reciprocal mode there is continualeye-to€ye checking, vocalization and turn'takingby the infant and the mother and their joint

tasks themselves become the objects of joint

attention. It is partly through interactions suchas these that normal children develop communica'tive competence, negotiate relationships with

.others, and eventually acquire the meanings of

words and symbols- Yet, as I have described'autistic children avoid if placed in such encountersand they do this at the point where normal child'

ren would be receiving feedback information,

or at the point where they should be replying and

thereby trying out a social communicative be'

haviour- ln addition they rarely initiate these

encounters. The negotiations of shared under-

standings, the shared meaning of words for

instance, rarely takes place, and they fail to

acquire many of the skills for communication and

cooperation oftheir culture (Richer, 1977b)-

TheraPeutic ImPlications

The clinical value of ethological work is not

limited to the description of behaviour in non-

inferential and non-mentalistic terms, for by

investigating *1g dstrils of behavioural mechanismsin everyday environments possible therapeutic

action is suggested. The effect of intense stereo-

typed behaviour on development such as occurs

in autistic children suggests that it stroul<l be

reduced, but the 'organism-tuning' adaptive

functisn ofstereotyped behaviour suggests there is

little value, and perhaps some harm" in trying to

effect this by direct negative reinforcement or

restraint. Although time spent in performing an

individual stereotypy maf be reduced in this way,

it is only valuable if that stereotyped behaviour

has particular undesirable conseguences, e.g.

as in self-mutilation (Iovaas, i971)- It is better

to try and affect the factors which lead to stereo'

typed behaviour. Thus situations where thwarting

and conflict are likely are avoided as much as

possible, but those where adaptive behaviour

is most likely to be learnt or performed are

encouraged. Social approaches are kept to a

minimum and it is made very clear what is

required of the child. The child's environment is

highly structured and predictable (Rutter and

Bartak, 1973). Difficulty and uncertainty are

avoided and teaching progresses in very carefullygraded steps to avoid failure and any novelty from

which the child might learn is introduced very

gradually. Although most of these points are

familiar, the difficulty arises in their execution,

because autistic children are easily frustrated

when piaced in conflict, with resulting stereo'

typed behaviour; ut a result the environment

should be managed very carefullY.It has been indicated that two important

reasons that autistic children rarely enter into

directed communication interactions are their

predominant avoidance tendencies and their

ii*itra communication skills. These two factors

reinforce each other in a vicious circle. I shall

concentrate only on methods for reducing

avoidance. As one cause of avoidance is difficulty'

requests should be simple and clear with some

redundancy in the message. Adults should adopt

one of two extremes of social behaviour (and both

at different times), these being the extremes of

minimal and maximal 'intrusiveness'. At the

minimal end the adult should just be available

to the child should he approach, or she should

approach with very little looking, reactiveness,

"1C., att the time trying to ensure that she is not

making approaches which are more intense than

the child will accept, i.e. she ensures she is not

promoting more avoidance (Richer. and Nicoll,

t97t; TinU"tgen and Tinbergen, L972)-Alternatively the adult is maximally intrusive'

Usually there is an issue at stake, for example

the chjld refuses to put on his coat and the adult

knows he can and thinla he ought to. The aduit

insists and this may necessitate holding the child

firmiy but lovingly, and not rigidly or too tightly,

on the lap. The child struggles' avoids more and

more, oftin screarns, but after an hour or so does

what the adult wanted and, much more important'

ly, avoidance behaviour virtually disappears and

much unambivalent approach behaviour is seent

such as the child's gaze fixating on the adult,

(Zaslow and Breger, 1959; Richer, 1974, 19772)'

i futth"t high intrusion method is described

I I ,ii:,1

I

: i

::l

llf

idanceeasier.

ed bet-language(re77).

which

14

Trlli l i

i

+

r10 ETHOLOGY AI{D MENTAL TTANDICAP

by Clancy and McBride (1975).'People

are rarely observed adopting either of

the extreme modes of behaviour. Normal adult

behaviour towards children lies somewhere in

between, but this normal behaviour which is

effective with the vast majority of children does

not work with autistic ones and tends to Promoteand reinforce avoidance (Richer, 1 97 7a), espe cially

in directed communication interactions (Richer,

1977b). Unless an autistic child's avoidance

*oti""tion is reduced substantially he is unlikeiy

to enter many communication interactions or to

learn communication skills- It is the experience

of therapists, who are concerned ts reduce avoid'

ance, that once approach behaviour predominates- and attachments are formed, -especially in the

younger autistic children, communication and

Ltheicognitive skills are acquired at a rapid rate'

References

Berkson, G. (1967). 'Abnormal stereotyped motot acts"----il -Coiparitive

hychopathology - Animal. and

Human -Gd"

f. Zutin and H' F' Hunt)' New York:

Grune and Strattoru

- 6d Davenport, R- K. (1952)' 'Stereotvped rnoe

ments of -mental defectives: t' Inititl $ursey"

Ameican Jounal of Mental Deficiency' 66'

849152.Blurton jones, N. G. (1912). Ethological Studtes of

Child Behaviour, London: Cambridge Urivetsir'v

Press.

- (f9?5). 'Ethology, anthropology and childhood-'

in ,aS4 Sndies - Biosocial Anthropolov Gd-R Fox). London: Dent-

- (19?6). 'Ethology and the study of human corn-

munication.' ln-Ianguage and Communication w

General hactice (Ed. B. Tanner)' London: Hodder

and Stoughton.Bruner, J. (19?5). 'From communication to language -

" p"y.ttot"eiol perspective''Cogz ition' .313'255'81 -

Chance, M. R. A- (1962)' 'An interPretatron ol some

agonistic postures- The role of 'cut off acts and

frstures'-Sympoium of the Zoological Society

of London, vol 8, 71-99.Churchiil, D. w. (r9?1). 'Effects of success and failure- -

io'pty.hotic children.' Archives of Gmeral Psy-

chiztry,2s, 208-14.Clancy, H.,

'and lvlcBridd, G. (f9?5)' 'The.

-isolatiron' synOiome in childhood.' Developmental Medicine

ind Chitd NeurologY,17, 198-219'Creak, M., et al. (196t), 'The schizo-phrenic.syndrome

'in chitdhood: progress report oi a working party"

Cerebral PalsY Bullerh,3' 501-4'

Culten, J. M. (19?2). 'Some principles of animal com------'t"tti&ibn'

In Non'verbal Communicafion (Ed'

R. A. Hinde). London: Cambridge University

Press'Dawkins, n. Og77). The Selfish Gene' London: Oxford

University hess.oetius, l. p.-(f 95?).'Displacement activities and arousal'

Nature, 214,1259-64-Ouffv, E. (fiSZ) ifne psychological signifrcance of the- "conclpt

of arousal or aCtivation" hychologicalReview, 64,265'1 5.

Germana, J" (1969). €entral effetent processes-and auto-

nomic-behavioural integratio *' hychophystology'6, ?&90.

Gray, J-. e" ifSOfl. 'Disappointment and-drugs in rats'

The Advancement of Science, 25, 595-605'

Harris, N. (1968). The Rise of Anthropologicll-fhl?ry -- -'A inttoi of Theoies of Culrure' New York:

CowellHinde, R. A" (i9?0). Animal Behaviour' New York:

McGraw'Hillffofst

"on,i. t1954)- 'Relations between the C'N'S' and

poipfro"f organs.' Bitish Joumdl of Animal

Behaviour, 2,89-94.ttowarttr, N. R., and Menolascino, F' J' (1968)' 'Some--- -"tp"ttt

oi Psychotic behaviour in young children'

iloughts on etiology.' Archives of General hy'

chiatry, 18, 355-9.H"tt, C. tiS59j- 'Exptoration, arousal and autism.'

hY chotogisch e Fonchung, 33' 1-8'-

- ano fiui, S- J. (1955). "The effect of environ-

mental complexity upon stereotyped behaviours

in children.' .4n imal Behaviour, 13' l-4'

- xn6 Hutt, S. J. (1970)' 'stereotvpies and their

relation to arousal- A study of autistic children"

ln Behaviour Studizs in Psychi*try (Eds' C' Hutt

and S. J. Hutt). Oxford: Pergamon'

- ;; -6*rt"A,

C. (19?0)' Gaze aversion and its

tiinin"""". in childhood autism" ln Be-hniour

S;;t;it in hvchiatry (Eds, C' Hutt and S' J' Huft)'

Oxford: Pergamon.Kanoer, L. (1943i. 'Autistic disturbances of affective

contac/'.' Nerttous Child, 2' Zl7-50'

Kendell, R. E' (1975). 'The concept of disease and its--------l-ptic"Aons

for psyct'iatry'; Bitish Joumal of

hYchiatry,12?' 305'15.

Kendon, A. (196?). 'Some functions of gaze'direction il

social interactio n.' Acta Psychologiea' 25' 22'63'

Kolvin, I. (1971)- 'Diagnostic criteda- and classificatior

of. childhood psichosis" Birish Journal of Psy'

chiatry,123, 3-16.

Kuhn, C.S. (lfei1- The Stntcture of Scientific Revob'---- '

tions. dhiogot University of Chicago Press'

Lovaas, I. O. (19?1). 'Behavioral heatment ptoglarn lor-- --psvcrroti"

.r,ilat1".'- it Infantile 4n!n {Y*D' W. Churchill"C.-b. erp"tti ad M' R' DeMever)'SPringfreld, lll : Thomas'

Lynn, R. (1956). Attention, Arousal tnd the Oientaion.

Reaction' Oxford: Pergamon' ' 'l:

:6

Lyons,cc

MacKayti(rP:

Malmo,d;

MedawuM

MiIlEr, I'efrYrJc

Newson,thoIps

Olds, J.,t i

st'5 l

Pribram,st:taNt

Prior M.s:tJc3,

Richer, -haof

_ (1ps5o

_(1ch

_(1no

-(1

oiE,

- an,chBr'13

- arli

Iot- afrr

an{diil

Routtenb

loB

.;Sira*';i

!

I,|),

tiiij,iilr i i i ;luJ. RICITER

Lal com'n (Ed.riversitY

Oxford

irousal'i :I of thetologicall : - i

ird auto-i1iolog, ;:i

in ratg' ':,::, - - ! .

heory - :..l' York:_ . . -- -

Lyons, J. (1972). 'Huryan language.' In Non-verbal Rutter, M. (19?4). 'The development of infantile autism.,C-ommunication (Ed. R. A. Hinde). London:

'psyciological Medicine, i, 147-63.

Cambridge University Press. -and Bartak, L. (19?3), 'special educational treat-MacKay, D. M. (1972)''Formal arulysis of communica- ment oi"utirtirchildren:-a comparative study -tive processes.' ln Non-verbal Communication II Follow-up findings and implications for services.,(Ed. R..d Hinde). London: Cambridge University loumal oi-CUA Fsychology and hychiatry, t+,press.

24+70.

]L, t , li .

v York:-

!{.S. andAnimal

i. 'so'n";hildren-ral hy-

autism.'

environ-haviours

nd theirhiltlren.'C. Hutt

. antl its'ehaviourJ. Hun).

affective

: and itsumal of

rection in22-63.

silicationI of Psy-

c Revolu-p.rgam forbm @ds)eMeyer).

ientarion

Malmo, R. B. (1959). 'Activation; a neuropsychologicaldimension.' .By c h ol ogical R evie w, 66, 3 67 - t6.

Medawar, P. B. (1967). The Art of the Soluble. London:Methuen.

Miller, N. N. (1963). 'Some reflections on the law ofeffect produce a new alternative to drive reductiorL'Nebraslca Symposium on Motivation (E& M_ R-Jones). Lincoln: Univcnity of Nebraska press.

Newson, J. and Newson, E. (1925). .lntersubjectivity andthe tansmission of culture; on the social origins

. of symbolic functioning.' Bulletin of the BitishPsychological Socieity, 29, 437 -46.

Olds, J., Travis, R. P., and Schwing, R..C. (19d0). Topegraphic organisation of the hypothalamic self

'' stimulation syctem.' hychologicat Review, 75,5l-60.

Pnbram, H. lL (1953). .Re-inforcement revisited. Astluctural view.' Nebraska Symposium on Moti-vation (Ed.. M. R. Jones). Lincotn: University ofNebraska Pres.

Prior M., and MacMitran, M. B. (1973). .Maintenance ofsameness in ch.trdren with Kaaner's syndroma'Ioumal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia.3, 154-167.

Richer, J. M. (1974). The Social and Stercotyped Be-haviour of Autistic Children. Ph,D. thesis. Univerirvof Reading.

- (1975). 'Two types of agreement - two types ofpsychoiogy.' Bulletin of the Bitish PsychologicztSociety, 29,342-5.

- (1976) 'The social-avoidance behaviour of autjsticchildren.'.4nim al Be haviour, 24, 898-906,

- (1977a). "The self-perpetuation of autism in anormal social environment.' (in preparation.)

- (1977b). 'The partial non-communication ofculture to autistic children.' ln Autism: Reaporaisalof Concepts and Treatment (Eds. M. Rutter andE. Schopler). Plenum Press.

- and Nicoll, S. (1971). .A playroom for autisticchildren and its companion therapy project.'Bitish Joumal of Mental Subnormality, 17,132-4?.

-and Richards, B (1975). .Reacting to autisticcbildren - the danger of trying too hard. Bnrrsifournal of hychiatry, r27,526-9.

* a6d Coss, R. G. (1976). .Gaze aversion in autisticand normal children.'' Acta hychiatica Scan-dinavica, S3,193-210.

Routtenberg, A. (1967), "The two arousal hypotheses:reticular formation and limbic systems.' Psycho-logical Review, ?5, 5l-80,

Sokolov, Ye" N. (1963). Perception and The ConditionedReflex, Qxford,: Pergamon.

Stein, L. (1964). 'Reciprocal action ofreward and punish-ment system.' ln The Role of Pleasure in Behaviour(Ed. Heath). New York: Harper and Row.

Tinberger,N. (1952). activities;thecausation,biological rignificance, origin, and emancipationduring evolution' Quarterly Review of Biologt,27" l-32.

- (1963). 1Cn the aims and methods of ethology.,Zeitschift fur Tierp sych ologie, 20, 410-33.

Tinbergen, E. .d" and Tinbergen, N. (1972). .Earlychildhood autism - -an ethological approach.'Advances h Behaviour, lO.

Wing, L" (1977). 'Social and behavioural characteristicsof autistic and other psychotic children: a pre-liminary report of an epidemiological study,'Ia Autism: Reappraisal of Concepts and Treat-ment @ds M. Rutter and E. Schopler). New York:Plenum Press

Zaslow, R. W., and Breger, L. (1969). ,A theory andtreatment of autism.' ln Cognitive ond AinicalPsychology: Models and Integration (Ld. LBreggr) Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hell

Appendix

Pafterns of Stereotypy

Rock. A forwatd and backward movement of thebody whi.ch usually oceurs when the child isseated.

Side rock. A rhythmic side-to-side movement oftbe body. Tbis usually occurs when the child isstanding with feet slightly apart. The child rocksfrom one foot to another.

Roll. The child js lying on his side and rolls backand forth.

Back ba,ng. The child bangs his back against thewall or baek of a chair repeatedly.

Half rotate. The same movement as roll only thechild is standing and the axis of rotation js vertical.

Pirouette. The child whirls round, usually the armsars outstretched-

Bounce. With feet more or less together the childjumps up and down.

.**.-*.toi.*;rl .::i.it:'

sl: lsl€l$t

tt2 ETHOLOGY AND MENTAL HA}TDICAP

Rabbit hop. T}:,e knees are fully bent and the handsbetween the legs, the child bounces along, hisbands touching the ground sometimes.

Slap sides; The hips or thighs are slapped severaltimes with both hands.

All fours run. Tllie child runs on all fours.

HaIf handstand. T}l,e child makes as if to do ahandstand but does not get further than half-wayup with hjs feet.

Jump rzn, The childs runs heavily or with muchjumping, to nowhere !n particular, sften rri<ingthe knees high and/or bouncing in the process.

Circle. Tll.e child runs round in circles. He may doit crabwise, always facing the centre of the circlehe describes. This is only done in confined spaces.

Clap hands. The hands are clapped togeiher, hard,several times.

Arm wave- The arms are fairly straight and pointingdown" They are waved to and from the body,occasionally touchin g it.

Arm flap. With forearms vertical the forearms, orjust the hands, are flapped.

Puppet wobble, The child is seated. Ila acosmove like pistons up and down, in an apprcximateforearms vertical position, her head wobblesfrom side to side, and her body and legs are movedfrom side to side by these.

Shudder. The whole body, but especi:Iiy rbeupper part, shakes with great intensir-v and foe-quency but low amplitude for a few seconcis. theshoulders are often lifted and the head puileddown. The movement goes from the head down-wards.

Swing leds. One or both legs iue swung back andforth when the child is seated with his feet offthe ground.

Hit head. The face or head is hit with the hand,usually the temple is slapped.

Head fiakes. The head is shaken or rotated backand forth.

Bite rclf- Some part of the body, usually ths hrndor forearm, is bitten, sometimes to break the skin.

Fidget. When seated the body is straigitenedand slumped repeatedly or the lower abdomen ismoved from side to side rocking on the bottomto keep the shoulders fairly still.

llring hands. The hands are wtung repeatedly

in front of the chest or face, sometimes they touchonly lightly and the movement is fast.

Hand regard. The hand is held in front of theface and the gaze seems to be directed more or lesstowards the hand for most of the time. The handmay be moved slowly or in a fast repetitive way"

Finger drum. The action is the same as drummingthe fingers on the table but there is no table, andthe frngers are more bent. The hand may be bythe side, by the ear or in front of the chest.

Finger. The child fingers any part of himself,scratching, rubbing, picking, etc" McGrew distin-guished this behaviour from genuine groomingbV (l) it appears hnconnected' to other simul-taneous body movements, and (2) additionalsensory modalities appear 'disengaged'. In otherwords, the child's total movements and posturesand his receptors do not seem consistent withand oriented to the particular fingering. Theactivity is usually not intense, and seems idle.However, intense bouts of, for example, scratchingcan occur"

Tongue or lip flick. Tbe tongue or lips are repeatedlyflicked with the fiagers.

Fingerlobject in mouth. The finge(s), thumb oran object are held in the mouth. They may bemoved in and out or rotated, the lips may beclosed alound thern. Thumb-sucking, commonin normal children, has not been seen by me inautistic cbildren, althougtr finger and object inmouth is very common.

Dangle. An object, like a piece of string or cloth isheld at head height, usually to one side and shakenso that it jumps up and down or swings.

Tap. The child taps himsetf or an object rhythmic-ally, usually with just the tips of the fingers whichare bent back.

Sprn. An object is spun.

Spin/drop. An object isspinning.

-- 1.. ' .,1..spun, then droPPed

the

Tetprc

Blotimstaclipstobut

Ter,x

. seel

-,- .r nor

: , - acc':

Heathal

.. hea,

.. up.

. ' . .: FOft

Fumble. A small object is twisted, flicked andturned in the hands. The object is usually in thelap or the space created between tlre legs whea -the child sits on the floor.

Tongue in and out.The tongue is moved repeatedlYup and down or in and out between parted teeta'It may curl up to the upper lip and be moved there'

Tongve around mouth. The tongue is moreduro,rtrd the mouth as if to removJ food particlc

.'l

J. RICHERt13there. The mouth rnay be opened and closed.

Teeth grind. The teeth are ground together roproduce the characteristic noisei.B.low to vibrate /tps. The lips are together, some.times pun6d, and blown through tJ-J" , f".tstaccato noise which rises in pitch the harder thelips are. p-ress-ed

.together. ThL activity- i, -gj.:i*

to an infant's .bubble blowing, "*""pitt",

oobubbles or saliva are blown.

Tension postures

These accompany some stereotypies anc areseen in - thwarting and conflict. fi uV

"r"- "fronormal sleep preparation behaviour (petiui I SeZ)accompanying yawning. .

Head back. The head is pulled back and ao*n ,othat- the chin points up Uut nof forwarO.'firehead may be so far uaci that tt. .r,ilJ ilu"*gup.

Forearms vertical" The upper arm is nearhorizontal

and the forearm vertical The elbows are out tothe side and perhaps back.Back arch. The back is arched.llist bend" The wrists are strongly bent, usuallyback.

Tiptoe. The feet are extended so that if the childwere standing he would. be on tiptoe. (Tiptoewalking is a conflict behaviour.)

Two facial expressions

G-rin. The mouth corners are drawn back andl^UelUv !p, _the upper lip i, puff"O

"p ll ,t

"ignt"r,its line. Both rows of teitir ur" ur""Ily-J"fr anOare together. Often seen when the- child is inconflict.

Grtma.ce. -Thg

upper lip is pulled up often townnxle the bridge of th-e nose. The iower lip ist11u"tlv dropped down. Upper teeth ,r" uJuffytl:yTg- the rows apad. -t)ften

,"rrrwrr"i- tr,"cnild ts thwarted.