A Systematic Scoping Review of Interventions for Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours and Interests in Autistic Children and Young People: How Are Outcomes Defined and By Whom?

We report on a systematic scoping review (SSR) of interventions for restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests (RRBIs) for autistic children and young people (CYP). To date, reviews of RRBI interventions synthesise evidence of effectiveness in reducing RRBIs but not whether and how this has benefitted CYP. We examined how outcomes are defined in this literature and by whom, focussing on CYP, parent/caregiver, and teacher views. We categorised studies that aimed to reduce RRBIs into those that based intervention on the specific negative impact of RRBIs for participants (group A) and those that based it on general negative impact of RRBIs reported in the literature (group B). The SSR included 592 studies. Only a quarter (n = 153, 27%) aimed to reduce RRBIs based on the specific needs of the participants and were included in group A. When the intended positive outcome of reducing RRBIs was related to functioning, such as learning or social interaction, less than half (n=66, 47%) in group A included a corresponding measure in the evaluation. Only a quarter of studies in group B (n = 99, 24%) included measures that evaluated outcomes associated with reducing RRBIs. The results are similar when limited to recent literature. Stakeholder views on RRBIs, when reported, were summarised in short statements of negative impact. We conclude that the needs of autistic CYP would be better met if intervention studies were consistently designed to evaluate whether and how reducing RRBIs is of benefit to them.