The effects of social context and verbal skill on the stereotypic and task-involved behaviour of autistic children.

Twelve autistic children's rates of Stereotypy, Task Involvement and Non Involvement were observed in three settings representing levels of interpersonal contact: Individual Attention, Group Attention and Play. The children were assigned in two groups reflecting high and low verbal skills and overall level of autistic disturbance was used as a covariate. Results showed that the highest levels of Task Involvement and the lowest levels of Stereotypy and Non Involvement were associated with the highest level of interpersonal contact. Verbal skill level predicted higher rates of prosocial behaviour overall, and interacted with the setting measures for Stereotypic behaviours, indicating that the low verbal children tended to self-stimulate most when no demands were made on their behaviour. Implications for further research and educational practice are briefly discussed.