Abstract/Summary

Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours (RRBs) have been postulated to serve as a type of early Emotion Regulation (ER) behaviour as they introduce order and predictability to the child’s environment through repetition and consequently reduce anxiety. These behaviours decrease in line with the manifestation and advancement of Executive Functioning (EF). It has also been found that EF training significantly improves children’s ability in managing emotion. However, no studies have investigated the two-way relationship between EF, ER and RRBs. In this thesis, we investigated whether ER serves as a mediator in the relationship between EF and RRBs with questionnaires, neuropsychological tests, and behavioural observations across three emotional contexts: Task, Preferred and Neutral. Mediation analysis was used to analyse their relationships. Results showed that children with autism engaged in more RRBs during the Preferred condition whereas typically developing children engaged in more RRBs during the Neutral condition, suggesting that RRBs potentially serve different functions for these two populations. ER was considered as a possible mediator in the relationship between EF and RRBs as its mediating effect was significant in parent-report measures but not neuropsychological and observational measures. We also modified a recently developed pose-estimation technology and developed a novel measurement tool, called OpenPose_Angle, that can automatically detect body parts, place keypoints on body segments, compute and analyse angles. Compared to traditional measurements, OpenPose_Angle could provide kinematic data of systematic and repetitive movements in a less resource-intensive manner, with high sensitivity and specificity. This technology was more likely to generate meaningful data for repetitive hand clapping and hand swinging behaviours, but it is still not ready for random and spontaneous repetitive behaviours displayed by children with autism.