THE CHARACTERIZATION AND OUTCOME OF STEREOTYPIC MOVEMENTS IN NONAUTISTIC CHILDREN

Stereotypies are patterned, repetitive, purposeless movements that are performed the same way each time. They are commonly seen in individua ls with autism, schizophrenia, or mental retardation, and also occur a s a feature of tardive dyskinesia and as movements in those with akath isia. We studied 10 children who had stereotypies but were not autisti c or mentally retarded. Although most had an uneventful delivery, seve n had mild to moderately delayed developmental milestones. Five had hy peractive behavior or attention-deficit problems. All appeared to be o f normal intelligence. The median age of onset of stereotypies was 12 months. The stereotypies included arm flapping, arm and hand posturing , finger wiggling, body rocking, leg shaking, facial grimacing, involu ntary noises, neck extension, and eye blinking. Of the 10 children, on ly two stopped having stereotypies eventually without medications.