Children with autistic spectrum disorders often prefer repetition. Here, two autistic children engage in stereotypical repetitive behaviors.

Next, we’ll see a clip of James, who shows some of these types of behavior. When he becomes excited by the activity he’s involved in, he shakes his hand and flaps his hands in quite a pronounced manner. Note again that his interest, whilst we are sitting together, is not in me, but in the toys and activities. Some autistic children become obsessed with sounds, tastes, or smells, which they can find hugely attractive or aversive. Here is seven-year-old Francesca. She is obsessively pressing a button on a toy, which produces a noise she finds attractive, in preference to playing with it, as one might expect.

autism, autistic, spectrum, disorders, symptom, repetition, ritual, habit, flap, flapping, rebecca, chilvers