Behaviours of Concern and Autism

Additional Information

Literature Review

The purpose of our literature review was to identify existing scientific reviews and clinical guidance on the topic of behaviours of concern and autism in order to provide evidence for our website entry on this topic.

- Scope of the Literature Review

We searched a wide range of scientific databases (such as Medline, Psychinfo, CINAHL and ERIC) during July and August 2015.

We searched key sources of clinical guidance (such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, The Social Care Institute for Excellence and the Cochrane Library).

We also searched other relevant databases (such as Autism Data and the Research Autism publications database).

Our search was limited to reviews and other significant clinical guidance documents written in English and published in peer-reviewed journals or relevant websites between 1990 and 2016.

- Search Terms

We used a variety of search terms, including synonyms and related terms for autism (such as Asperger syndrome); behaviours of concern (such as challenging or disruptive behaviour); and clinical guidance.

- Results

We identified 30 reviews and 3 guidance documents, as well as more than 250 other research studies.

- Strengths and Limitations

Our review was limited to an analysis of reviews and clinical guidance on behaviours of concern in autistic people, published between 1990 and 2015.

It was not intended to be a systematic review of all research studies on the topic of behaviours of concern in autism, nor we did we carry out a meta-analysis of the reviews and studies we identified.

We did not include reviews of specific forms of behaviours of concern, such as aggression or self injurious behaviour.

Updated

21 Sep 2022