Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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39th Annual Convention; Minneapolis, MN; 2013

Event Details


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Paper Session #428
Social Behavior in Children With Autism
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
10:30 AM–11:50 AM
205 A-B (Convention Center)
Area: AUT
Chair: Andre Maharaj (Florida International University)
 

Teaching Eye Contact in the Context of Requesting and Joint Attention to Toddlers With Autism

Domain: Applied Research
IVANA KRSTOVSKA-GUERRERO (Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York), Emily A. Jones (Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York)
 
Abstract:

Gaze shifting and eye contact are severely impaired in children with autism. Lack of these skills negatively impacts the development of foundational early social communication skills, such as requesting and joint attention. In previous research, children were taught requesting and joint attention skills, but not necessarily in coordination with gaze shifting and eye contact. In three studies, we explored the effectiveness of prompting and reinforcement procedures to teach eye contact with gaze shifting coordinated with requesting and joint attention across several different skills and teaching sequences. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to evaluate the intervention for eight young children with autism (19-33 months of age) who participated in these studies. Results showed rapid acquisition of target responses for all children with some generalization across different levels of requesting and joint attention in one study, and across different functions in two other studies. Generalization across people was observed for all children. While the generalization across responses and functions must be interpreted with caution, it is important because it may suggest the crucial role these skills play in early social communication development and, perhaps, their pivotal role in autism interventions.

 
Evaluating iPad Technology as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication Device and its Effects on Vocal Communication Skills
Domain: Applied Research
GINA GAVRILIS (California State University, Fresno), Amanda N. Adams (California State University, Fresno)
 
Abstract: Communicative abnormalities are common symptoms of individuals who have autism spectrum disorders. Many children with autism fail to develop functional speech. This study addressed the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs of children who have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum and who possess deficits in communicative behaviors, as well as the potential of AAC strategies to promote vocal responding. The effects of Proloquo2Go on the Apple iPad were evaluated in relation to the requesting skills of the participants. Proloquo2Go is an AAC system that utilizes symbols, visual supports, and a voice output component. Participants were taught to utilize the system in order to mand for preferred items. Following an iPad training phase, a prompt delay procedure was implemented to promote vocal responding. The study utilized a multiple baseline design across participants with multiple phases.
 

Establishing Social Stimuli as Reinforcers

Domain: Applied Research
ANDRE MAHARAJ (Florida International University)
 
Abstract:

According to the DSM-IV, one of the core deficits in Autism is in the impairment of social interaction. Some have suggested that underlying these deficits is the reality that people with Autism do not find social stimuli to be as reinforcing as other types of stimuli (Dawson, Toth, Abbott, Osterling, Munson, Estes & Liaw, 2004, Dawson, 2008). If changes can be made early in development in the way social stimuli are perceived, perhaps other behaviors may then develop more typically (Dawson, 2008, Helt, Kelley, Kinsbourne, Padney, Boorstein, Herbert & Fein, 2008). The current study aimed to use operant and respondent procedures to condition social stimuli that had been empirically shown to not be reinforcing prior to conditioning to function as reinforcers. Three children between 2 and 3 years of age, diagnosed with Autism, participated. Following a thorough free-operant, concurrent choice reinforcer assessment of both social and non-social stimuli, the participants received 7 sessions of a combined, operant and respondent procedure to establish the reinforcing effects of social stimuli found to not be reinforcing. The data were analyzed using a multiple-baseline design with a reversal, to show if the effects of conditioning persist past the training. Results show an increase in responding for the social stimulus during training and follow-up for all participants.

 
 

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