Executive Function Predicts Self-Injurious Behaviour in Autistic Children With Co-Occurring Intellectual Disability, 2022-2023

The Self-Injurious Behaviour (SIB) Study was made up of a series of rigorous, inter-connected observational studies in samples of autistic children with an intellectual disability (ID) aged between 4-15 years. The study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of remotely administering a novel battery of direct executive functioning (EF) measures, examining potential links between direct and informant report measures of EF. The study also aimed to explore any potential relationships between SIB and both informant report and novel direct measures of EF.

Parents and caregivers (henceforth ‘caregivers’) across the United Kingdom first completed an eligibility screening call and were invited to take part in either four or five stages of the study dependent upon their eligibility;

For all participants:
1. A questionnaire survey (Online or paper versions available)
2. The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Interview (via video conferencing software)
3. A comprehensive risk assessment (via video conferencing software)
4. A remote games session (via video conferencing software)
5. For participants who showed weekly self-injury, a ten-day remote sleep assessment (using Motionwatch 8 and paper diary)

Caregivers worked through aspects of the remote protocol as described above. Participation within the SIB Study took between 1 and 6 months, with overall data collection running from June 2022 January 2023. Families were recruited through existing databases, social media, special educational needs schools, charities and links with 19 supporting NHS sites across the UK.

Informant report data on SIB, EF and adaptive behaviour were collected for 171 autistic children with ID and a novel, developmentally appropriate EF task battery was administered remotely to a subsample (N = 126; mean age = 9.95, range 4-15, 28 female, 84.9% showed SIB).