An Examination of Heart Rate During Challenging Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder
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An Examination of Heart Rate During Challenging Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder Sinéad Lydon & Olive Healy & Martina Dwyer
Published online: 21 December 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
Abstract Many researchers have proposed that challenging behaviors emitted by individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder are related to abnormal physiological arousal. It has been suggested that behaviors such as stereotypy and self-injury function to regulate arousal and to reduce the discomfort associated with hypo- or hyper-arousal. Little empirical research has tested these theories. The current study investigated heart rate during challenging behavior in three children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Heart rate before, during, and after challenging behaviors was analysed. Specific heart rate patterns were found to co-occur with challenging behaviors. Abnormal heart rate responses to stressors were also noted. These findings offer little support for the arousal modulation theories of challenging behavior. We suggest that, for some individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, these behaviors serve to increase arousal and to allow, or sustain, access to a preferred state of heightened arousal. These findings, which are not wholly in line with previous research, may have implications for the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior. Keywords Physiological arousal . Heart rate . Physiology . Autism spectrum disorder . Challenging behavior . Self-injurious behavior . Stereotypy . Behavior analysis . Psychophysiology Arousal may be defined as the “degree of feeling stimulated” (Bolte et al. 2008, p. 776) and is considered a complex and difficult construct to study or operationalize as it encompasses feelings, behaviors, and physiology (Mayes 2000). Physiologically, arousal refers to activation of the central and peripheral nervous systems which can be examined through measures of heart rate (HR), blood pressure, skin conductance, muscle tone, respiration, and levels of certain neurochemicals (Humphreys and Revelle 1984). Physiological arousal occurs in response to stimulation that can come S. Lydon : O. Healy (*) : M. Dwyer School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, University Rd., Galway, Ireland e-mail: [email protected]
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J Dev Phys Disabil (2013) 25:149–170
from the external world or from the individual’s own body (Humphreys and Revelle 1984), and affects a variety of important executive functions including information processing, attention, learning, memory, and stress reactivity (Mayes 2000). During the early years, individuals typically learn to regulate their arousal levels in response to stimulation and to achieve a balance that allows them to optimally perform executive functions (Mayes 2000). For many years, researchers have proposed that physiological arousal, or rather the regulation of physiological arousal, is abnormal in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Edelson 1984; Helt et al. 2008; Hutt and Hutt 1965; Hutt et al. 1964; Leekam et al.
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