Problem: The student appears to perseverate or get stuck doing the same activity over and over or saying the same thing or feeling the same emotion; may have difficulty transitioning from place to place or activity to activity; requests to change topics or activities may be greeted with negative behavior; changes in routine cause problems; the student appears to be inflexible. (See Tutorial on Flexibility.)

Please review the list of possible explanations to the problem. Click on a possibility to learn about relevant observations and experiments to further determine the source of the problem. There are 4 categories: General Medical, Cognitive/Self-Regulatory, Behavioral, Social-Emotional

Click on "MORE" after any of these possible explanations to view suggestions for exploring that possible explanation.

General Medical Possibilities:

Medical Possibility #1: Medication side effect: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a side effect of medication. MORE...

Medical Possibility #2: Fatigue: Some students appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of fatigue (e.g., insufficient sleep). MORE...

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Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibilities:

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #1:Specific flexibility impairment: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as an isolated deficit, a direct result of frontal lobe injury. (See Tutorial on Flexibility). MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #2:Organizational impairment: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of a specific organizational impairment. (See Tutorial on Organization.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #3: General self-regulation impairment: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of general difficulty with self-regulation (e.g., rigidity, impulse-control problems, disorganization). (See Tutorials on Self-Regulation, Self-Awareness, Organization, Planning, Inhibition, Initiation, Problem Solving.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #4: Attention deficit: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of problems with components of attention. (See Tutorial on Attention.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #5: Memory/retrieval impairment: Some students may have difficulty generating ideas as a result of difficulty with memory/retrieval (See Tutorials on Retrieval; Word Retrieval) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #6: Weak orientation to task: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of uncertainty regarding what is required of them. (See Tutorials on Language Comprehension; Organization.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #7: Generally weak cognitive functioning: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of excessive demands placed on their memory, organizational ability, academic skill, or other cognitive ability. (See Tutorials on Cognition, Memory, Organization.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #8: General slowness in information processing: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of general slowness in information processing. (See Tutorial on Slow Information Processing.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #9: Memory/retrieval impairment: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of difficulty with memory/retrieval (See Tutorials on Retrieval; Word Retrieval) MORE...

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Behavioral Possibilities:

Behavioral Possibility #1: Oppositionality: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of oppositional behavior (See Tutorials on Oppositional Behavior; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies). MORE...

Behavioral Possibility #2: Manipulativeness: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a form of manipulation (other than oppositional behavior). (See Tutorials on Manipulation; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies.) MORE...

Behavioral Possibility #3: Attention seeking: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a way to seek adult and/or peer attention. (See Tutorials on Attention Seeking; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies; Behavior Management: Contingency Management) MORE...

Behavioral Possibility #4: : Task avoidance: Some students may appear to be inflexible and and engage in ritualistic behavior as a way to avoid specific tasks. (See Tutorials on Task Avoidance; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies; Behavior Management: Contingency Management.) MORE...

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Social-Emotional Possibilities

Social-Emotional Possibility #1: Depression: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior because they are upset, depressed, and/or lack positive relationships with peers and/or adults. (See Tutorials on Depression; Peer Relationships.) MORE...

Social-Emotional Possibility #2: Anxiety: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of anxiety. (See Tutorial on Anxiety.) MORE...

Social-Emotional Possibility #3: Frustration: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of feeling frustrated. (See Tutorial on Frustration.) MORE...

Social-Emotional Possibility #4: Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Some students may appear to be inflexible and engage in ritualistic behavior as a result of obsessive-compulsive disorder. MORE...

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