Video Recordings of Naturalistic Observations: Pattern Recog­nition of Disruptive Behaviours in People with Mental Health or Neurodevelopmental Conditions

Individuals with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental conditions often display disruptive day- and night-time behaviours associated with abnormally increased muscular activity and/or presentations described as hyperkinesia, hypermotor-restlessness and hyper-/hypo-arousability (all summarized as H-behaviours). H-behaviours are used as a diagnostic characteristic of mental health and/or neurodevelopmental conditions; however, the connotations and applications of H-behaviours are variable depending on the professional’s training background and contextual framework. In this position paper, members of the InternationalPediatric Sleep Association Video-Working-Group and International Restless Legs Syndrome versus Growing Pains Study Group suggest the first framework for analyzing short video recordings or ‘clips’ of H-behaviours in individuals with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions. The framework is based on a practical, ‘pattern recognition’-based approach to H-behaviours using observations of the basic clinical signs that will help to establish standardized terminology and facilitate ‘behavioural observation’ in clinical practice.