Case Report: Effect of Multidisciplinary Intervention on Circumscribed Interests in Autism - Abstract
Circumscribed interests (CI) in children with Autism tend to interfere with participation in therapy and impede learning, memory and social development.
However, scarce evidence has been generated on the effect of multidisciplinary intervention on CI, in the Indian context. A two year six months old boy,
born of full-term Caesarean section (non-consanguineous marriage), without antenatal or postnatal complications and speech delay was presented at a
multidisciplinary child development centre. Autism was diagnosed according to the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV-TR) with
borderline social functioning (Social Quotient: 78) on Vineland Social Maturity Scale. During the intervention period, the child showed fixed interests and
behaviors where most of his activities were executed in a ‘pattern of threes’ - for e.g. stacking three blocks, kissing first on left cheek and then right cheek and
forehead, balancing only three balancing buffoons, writing only three-letter words and bringing only three chocolates or packets of chips, three toys or pencils.
After receiving intervention, the child improved in his bonding with caregivers, self-help behaviors and group play (assisted). However, CI persisted at home.
Intervention was modified to channelize the child’s preoccupation into a hobby or meaningful activity using a combination of behavioral reinforcement and
creation of social stories on the ‘three characters’, in order to strengthen thinking and decision-making.