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| The Conditioning and Implementation of Reinforcement and Reinforcement Systems for Children With Autism |
| Tuesday, May 29, 2012 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| 305 (TCC) |
| Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Ronald B. Leaf (Autism Partnership) |
| Discussant: Justin B. Leaf (Autism Partnership) |
| CE Instructor: Justin B. Leaf, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Children with an autism spectrum disorder may play with limited objects or toys and may have difficulty changing their aberrant behavior with reinforcement based procedures. This presents challenges for teachers trying to identify reinforcers to use in teaching new skills and in using reinforcement to decrease aberrant behaviors. This symposium will present3 papers on ways inwhich teachers can create new reinforcers for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and ways reinforcement can be used effectively in decreasing aberrant behaviors for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The first study will describe an observational conditioning procedure used to switch the preference of stimuli for3 high functioning children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The second paper will describe an extension of the first papers findings as it looks to change the preference of stimuli for5 children with autism who are more severely impacted. The final paper will describe a differential reinforcement procedure to reduce elopement for a child diagnosed with autism. Implications for clinical implementation about ideas for future research will be discussed. |
| Keyword(s): Conditioned Reinforcement, Differential Reinforcement, Preference, Reinforcement |
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| Conditioning the Preference of Stimuli for Three High Functioning Children on the Autism Spectrum |
| MISTY OPPENHEIM-LEAF (Great Strides Behavioral Consulting, Inc.), Justin B. Leaf (Autism Partnership), Ronald B. Leaf (Autism Partnership), James A. Sherman (University of Kansas), Jan B. Sheldon (University of Kansas), John James McEachin (Autism Partnership), Mitchell T. Taubman (Autism Partnership) |
| Abstract: Children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may play with limited objects or toys. This presents challenges for teachers trying to identify reinforcers to use in teaching new skills. The goal of the present study was to switch childrens preferences from highly preferred toys to toys that were originally less preferred using an observational conditioning procedure. In this procedure, an adult known to the child played with toys that were less preferred by the child in novel and presumably interesting ways while the child watched. After the observation period, each child switched his preference to the toy with which the adult had played. Maintenance of preference of the changed preference was idiosyncratic to each child. The results of the current study suggest teachers may be able to influence the level of preference that children with ASD show for potential reinforcers and expand the range of items that students will sample. |
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| Conditioning the Preference of Stimuli for Five Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Replication Study |
| ALYNE KASSARDJIAN (Autism Partnership), Justin B. Leaf (Autism Partnership), Courtney Muehlebach (Autism Partnership), Mitchell T. Taubman (Autism Partnership), Ronald B. Leaf (Autism Partnership), John James McEachin (Autism Partnership) |
| Abstract: Children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may play with limited objects or toys. This presents challenges for teachers trying to identify reinforcers to use in teaching new skills. Previous research has demonstrated that an observational conditioning procedure has been effective in switching the preference for3 "high functioning" children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Although, this research showed that preference can be conditioned the procedures were only implemented to "high functioning" children and thus it is not known what the effects would be for children who are more severely impacted. The goal of the present study was to extend the previous research on conditioning preference by implementing and observational conditioning procedure to children who were more severely impacted and diagnosed with autism. The results of the current study suggest teachers may be able to influence the level of preference that children with ASD however it may be more difficult than children who are considered "high functioning." |
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| Using Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviours to Reduce Elopement in a Child With Autism |
| RESHANI I. SATHARASINGHE (Autism Partnership), Toby Mountjoy (Autism Partnership), John James McEachin (Autism Partnership), Ronald B. Leaf (Autism Partnership), Mitchell T. Taubman (Autism Partnership), Eric Rudrud (St. Cloud State University) |
| Abstract: Differential reinforcement of other behaviours (DRO) was the intervention procedure used in this study to reduce the occurrence of elopement in a child with autism who eloped almost daily. DRO intervals began at 1 minute and the largest interval being 30 minutes. DRO segments were also run intermittently instead of continuously. Edible reinforcement was used with social reinforcement in the form of praise being added at larger intervals. The results showed that the DRO intervention was highly successful at reducing the occurrence of eloping for intervals below 10 minutes but less successful at reducing the behaviour at larger intervals above 10 minutes. By the end of the intervention, zero occurrence of eloping had been achieved for 15 consecutive sessions at a DRO interval of 30 minutes. |
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