Association for Behavior Analysis International

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48th Annual Convention; Boston, MA; 2022

Event Details


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Symposium #430
CE Offered: BACB
Increasing Leisure and Physical Activity Engagement
Monday, May 30, 2022
9:00 AM–9:50 AM
Meeting Level 2; Room 258C
Area: AUT/CSS; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Eileen M. Roscoe (The New England Center for Children)
CE Instructor: Eileen M. Roscoe, Ph.D.
Abstract:

The theme of the current symposium is research that addresses deficits in leisure and physical activity engagement. The first presenter will describe a study for increasing functional leisure item engagement across multiple activities for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who displayed restricted interests (i.e., they engaged primarily with an iPad). Response restriction preference assessments were conducted throughout training to assess the generality of the findings when several activities were concurrently available. In the second paper, the author will describe a study on a technology for increasing physical activity engagement for two individuals with ASD who showed low levels of physical activity engagement. This approach included a combination of a preference assessment and treatment analysis to identify the most preferred physical activity task and the most effective intervention. Additional assessments were subsequently conducted to increase the generality and acceptability of the outcomes. In the third paper, the presenter will describe an evaluation of a competition feature on an automated fitness tracker for increasing physical activity in six typically developing adults. If the competition alone was ineffective, an additional incentive for winning the competition was included. The findings obtained and directions for future research in this area will be discussed.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): fitness tracker, leisure engagement, physical activity, preference assessment
Target Audience:

Individuals who have previous knowledge of behavior analytic principles.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Describe strategies for increasing leisure item engagement in individuals with restricted interests (2) Describe an assessment and treatment approach for increasing physical activity engagement in individuals with autism (3) Describe a procedure that includes an automated competition feature for increasing physical activity in typically developing adults
 

Increasing Leisure Item Engagement in Individuals With Restricted Interests

ROBERT BENJAMIN CORNAGLIA (The New England Center for Children; Western New England University), Eileen M. Roscoe (The New England Center for Children), Valerie Hall (The New England Center for Children; Western New England University), Abigail McVarish (The New England Center for Children; Western New England University)
Abstract:

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display restricted interests. The current study assessed levels of engagement across multiple leisure items in five individuals with ASD, who repetitively engaged with an iPad to the exclusion of other activities. Response restriction (RR) preference assessments were conducted to assess whether simply restricting access to the iPad facilitated engagement across multiple items. If it did not, the experimenter conducted leisure-item-engagement training in the context of a modified single-item duration-based preference assessment. A multiple baseline design across leisure items was used to evaluate the effects of prompting and differential reinforcement on simple and functional engagement. Prompting alone was effective in increasing simple engagement for four participants and functional engagement for one participant. Prompting with differential reinforcement increased functional engagement for four participants. RR assessments were conducted throughout training to serve as an ongoing measure of the effects of training on restricted interest patterns.

 

Assessment and Treatment for Increasing Physical Activity in Individuals With Autism

CHELSEA HEDQUIST (New England Center for Children), Eileen M. Roscoe (The New England Center for Children), Hannah Krueger (The New England Center for Children; Western New England University)
Abstract:

Individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism often have sedentary lifestyles and do not meet the recommendations for physical activity engagement outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous research on increasing physical activity engagement has been primarily conducted with typically developing individuals, and the procedures used may not be amenable to individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism. The purpose of this study was to develop a systematic technology for increasing physical activity engagement for two individuals with autism. A physical activity analysis that included a progressive treatment approach was conducted and identified the most effective physical activity and treatment combination for increasing physical activity engagement. Data from the physical activity analysis and two subsequent analyses on the generality and acceptability of the intervention will be reviewed.

 
Assessing Automated Self-Monitoring and Feedback for Increasing Physical Activity
NABIL MEZHOUDI (New England Center for Children), Chelsea Hedquist (New England Center for Children), Eileen M. Roscoe (The New England Center for Children)
Abstract: Approximately three-quarters of Americans adults do not meet the national guidelines for physical activity – an average of 22 min of moderate physical activity per day (Blackwell & Clarke, 2018; Piercy et al., 2018). Lack of physical activity is associated with a variety of negative long-term health outcomes (McGuire, 2014); therefore, identifying effective interventions for increasing individuals’ physical activity is warranted. Physical activity can be measured with devices that use accelerometers and heart rate sensors. The Apple Watch, for example, utilizes these instruments to measure an individual’s movement and heart rate and subsequently calculates minutes spent exercising, calories burned, and hours spent standing. Additionally, the Apple Watch has a competition feature that allows users to challenge one another and compete for points awarded for engaging in physical activity. The present study evaluated the impact of this competition feature on levels of physical activity for six participants working at a school for children with autism and assessed an additional incentive component if the competition alone was ineffective. The competition effectively increased physical activity for some but not all participants and adding an incentive for winning the competition improved performance in some cases. Interobserver agreement was 100% across all measures for all participants.
 

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