ABSTRACT
Instructive feedback (IF) is a modification to discrete trial instruction that may increase instructional efficiency for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Several variations of IF have recently been evaluated in the literature; however, few studies have assessed the effectiveness and efficiency of presenting secondary targets on continuous versus intermittent presentation schedules. The current study evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of various presentation schedules of secondary targets during discrete trial instruction. Specifically, we replicated and extended Griffen et al. (1998) by comparing a condition in which secondary targets were presented during each trial of a session, a condition in which secondary targets were presented every other trial, and a condition in which secondary targets were presented about every 4 trials. Within-subject replications were included for both participants. One of the intermittent presentation schedules was associated with the most optimal outcomes in all 4 comparisons.
Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder/psychology , Formative Feedback , Child , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
We extended past observational learning research by incorporating stimuli already known to participants into training. We used a multiple-baseline design across three participants to determine the effects of discrimination training on the discrimination of consequences applied to modeled responses using both known and unknown pictures. During baseline, participants were exposed to modeled correct and incorrect picture labels and were observed to imitate modeled responses that were incorrect and followed by negative feedback. During discrimination training, we taught participants to label known pictures regardless of observed responses and consequences. With unknown pictures, we taught participants to imitate correct and reinforced modeled responses, and to say, "I don't know," when modeled responses were incorrect and received negative feedback. Test sessions measured responding to known and unknown pictures and showed acquisition over baseline levels. Generalization to pictures not associated with training was variable. Implications for teaching observational learning to children with autism are discussed.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/psychology , Discrimination Learning , Observation , Child , Cues , Generalization, Psychological , Humans , Male , Photic Stimulation , Reinforcement, PsychologyABSTRACT
During social referencing, infants as young as 6 months of age look to others when confronted with unfamiliar or unexpected events in the environment and then respond to these events based on affective cues of the parent or caregiver (e.g., smiling and frowning). Social referencing is important for early communication and language development. Unfortunately, social referencing repertoires are limited or completely lacking in children with autism. Despite these documented social deficits, little research has focused on ameliorating social referencing deficits. The purpose of this paper is to present a behavior-analytic conceptualization of social referencing and the implications for ameliorating social referencing deficits of children with autism.
ABSTRACT
We taught 4 participants with autism to discriminate between the reinforced and nonreinforced responses of an adult model and evaluated the effectiveness of this intervention using a multiple baseline design. During baseline, participants were simply exposed to adult models' correct and incorrect responses and the respective consequences of each. During discrimination training, in the presence of target pictures, we taught participants to imitate the reinforced responses of an adult model and to say "I don't know" when an adult model's response was not reinforced. Test sessions were conducted after baseline, discrimination training, and generalization sessions to measure responding to target pictures in the absence of the model, prompts, and reinforcement. All 4 participants showed acquisition in the discrimination of reinforced and nonreinforced responses of the adult model during test sessions. Generalization to stimuli not associated with training was variable across the 4 participants. Implications for teaching observational learning responses to children with autism are discussed.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/rehabilitation , Discrimination Learning/physiology , Discrimination, Psychological , Motivation/physiology , Reinforcement, Psychology , Teaching/methods , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Child , Female , Generalization, Psychological , Humans , Male , Mental Recall , Photic Stimulation , Random AllocationABSTRACT
A skill essential for successful inclusion in general education settings is the ability to learn by observing others. Research, however, has documented children with autism display significant deficits in the fundamental skills necessary for observational learning. This article outlines the skills essential for observational learning from an operant learning perspective, the research base on teaching observational learning to children with autism, and suggests practical strategies to increase these skills in children with autism so they may more fully benefit from inclusion in general education settings.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/physiopathology , Conditioning, Operant , Discrimination Learning , Imitative Behavior , Learning , Attention , Autistic Disorder/rehabilitation , Child , HumansABSTRACT
We evaluated the effects of monitoring responses on the acquisition of sight words with 3 children with autism. In the training condition, we taught participants a vocal imitation and matching response related to a peer's reading response. In another condition, participants were exposed only to a peer's reading responses. Participants read the words more accurately during test sessions when the monitoring response was required. Results and discussion highlight the importance of identifying component responses of observational learning and the need for additional research in this area.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/psychology , Learning , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Imitation is an essential skill in the acquisition of language and communication skills. An initial phase in teaching young children with autism to engage in appropriate affective responding may be to teach the imitation of facial models. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, imitation training (consisting of modeling, prompting, differential reinforcement, and error correction) was introduced successively across 3 participants. Low and inconsistent rates of imitation of facial models were observed in baseline. All of the participants learned to imitate some of the facial models presented during imitation training, but only 2 of the 3 participants demonstrated generalized responding across stimuli.
