The RBS-R is a parent/caregiver rated measure covering a broad range
of repetitive behaviors consisting of 43 items across 6 subscales. Each item
represents a discrete and observable behavioral topography. The RBS-R has
been independently validated for use among individuals with ASD including
toddlers and pre-school age children (Lam
& Aman, 2007 ; Mirenda et al.,
2010 ). Subscales include stereotypical, self-injurious,
compulsive, ritualistic, sameness, and restricted behaviors. Parents based
ratings upon observations of their child’s behavior over the
previous month. The RBS-R provides total and subscale scores using two
scales: an inventory, or items endorsed score, and a weighted score which
reflects degree of severity (mild, moderate, or severe). We reasoned that
the more clinically focused severity scores may be developmentally
inappropriate, less valid, and more prone to rater bias. For example, it is
unclear how a parent would judge repetitive hand flapping to be a mild
versus moderate “problem” in the context of a 12-month-old
child. Rather, our interest was in whether or not repetitive behaviors were
or were not present in a given child’s behavioral repertoire. As
such, we elected to focus our analysis on counts of items endorsed by
parents. Group distributions for unadjusted RBS-R scores are presented in
Figure 1 .
of repetitive behaviors consisting of 43 items across 6 subscales. Each item
represents a discrete and observable behavioral topography. The RBS-R has
been independently validated for use among individuals with ASD including
toddlers and pre-school age children (
& Aman, 2007
2010
compulsive, ritualistic, sameness, and restricted behaviors. Parents based
ratings upon observations of their child’s behavior over the
previous month. The RBS-R provides total and subscale scores using two
scales: an inventory, or items endorsed score, and a weighted score which
reflects degree of severity (mild, moderate, or severe). We reasoned that
the more clinically focused severity scores may be developmentally
inappropriate, less valid, and more prone to rater bias. For example, it is
unclear how a parent would judge repetitive hand flapping to be a mild
versus moderate “problem” in the context of a 12-month-old
child. Rather, our interest was in whether or not repetitive behaviors were
or were not present in a given child’s behavioral repertoire. As
such, we elected to focus our analysis on counts of items endorsed by
parents. Group distributions for unadjusted RBS-R scores are presented in
