Emergent Intraverbal and Reverse Intraverbal Behavior Following Listener Training in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

We evaluated whether intraverbal and reverse intraverbal behavior emerged following listener training in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Six participants were each taught three sets of three “when?” questions in listener training. A multiple baseline design across behaviors (stimulus sets) was used to assess the effects of listener training. Results showed that intraverbal behavior emerged following listener training for five out of six participants. One participant received additional listener training and intraverbal training before intraverbal behavior emerged. Furthermore, reverse intraverbal responding occurred across all three sets of questions for three of the six participants. Establishing listener behavior may be a pathway for emergent intraverbal and reverse intraverbal responding in children with ASD. Future research could examine what skill repertoire may facilitate such transfer.

Effect of a brief online shared reading ıntervention to support communication skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Shared interactive book reading (SIBR) is an evidence-based practice for young children with developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD can benefit from structured activities such as SIBR, especially when they are supported by their parents. During SIBR, parents can support their children’s language and communication skills by engaging with them around a storybook. Parents can create opportunities for communication by commenting on the story, asking a question, and pointing at the pictures. In the current telepractice (internet-based) study, three parents and three children with ASD participated in the study. In a single-case multiple-baseline across subjects design, parents were trained to use expectant pause and mand-model strategy with their children. Parents’ frequency in use of the strategies increased during intervention. All three children increased their initiating and responding behaviors upon their parents’ use of strategies.

Special Needs Student Developing Automaticity With Multiplication Facts Six to Nine

In previous studies, the student used skip counting and her hands to recall [1] all the multiplication facts for the ones to fives and also gained automaticity [2] for the ones to fives facts. In the current study the ninth-grade student was able to memorize the multiplication facts (0 to 10) for the sixes to nines and gained automaticity with 80% accuracy. The overall goal of the current study was to improve the student’s automaticity of multiplication facts (0-10) for the sixes through nines, such as 6 x 7 = 42. The student had been taught multiplication concepts in her elementary years and she has a basic understanding of the meaning of multiplication facts as shown in the previous studies. She understood that 6 x 7 is a representation of six sets of seven or 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = 42. The student had previously used skip counting and flash cards with illustrations of the multiplication facts to memorize the facts. In the current study a multiple baseline design was used to measure the acquisition of fluency of multiplication facts over time. The student was able to develop automaticity with 80% accuracy by giving the solution within 3 seconds for all of the facts (0-10) for the sixes through nines.

Teaching Advanced Manding Skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Systematic Instruction, Speech-Generating Devices, and Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behaviour

<p>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by marked impairments in social and communication skills, as well as restricted and/or repetitive patterns of behaviour or interests. Approximately 25-30% of children with ASD do not develop speech. As a result they may require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions. However, most interventions discussed in our present body of research focuses on basic communication skills like requesting. As such, it is important to investigate systematic teaching strategies for more complex requesting (i.e., manding) skills like requesting actions or requesting information. This research aims to extend previous manding literature by investigating effective methods for teaching advanced manding skills to children with ASD who communicate using an SGD. Three empirical intervention studies that a presented in this thesis evaluated the use of behaviour chain interruption strategy (BCIS) and systematic teaching procedures based on the principals of applied behaviour analysis (ABA), to teach advanced manding skills (i.e., manding for actions, manding for “where” questions, and persistence of “where questions”) for individuals with ASD who use speech-generating devices (SGD). Single-case research methodology was used via variations of the multiple baseline design (i.e., multiple probe multiple baseline design across participants and multiple probe multiple baseline across participants and behaviour chains) to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions. A total of three participants (2 boys and 1 girl, ages 13, 10, and 5) participated in the interventions that were designed to teach the targeted mand. Results of each study yielded positive results, in that each participant acquired the targeted skill. Generalisation (i.e., across stimuli, over time, and across communication partners) results were mixed, however with additional teaching with the use of systematic instruction they were also acquired. Although these results are preliminary, they indicated that advanced manding skills should be taught to children with ASD who communicate using SGDs and can be acquired with the use of systematic instruction.</p>

Teaching Advanced Manding Skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Systematic Instruction, Speech-Generating Devices, and Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behaviour

<p>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by marked impairments in social and communication skills, as well as restricted and/or repetitive patterns of behaviour or interests. Approximately 25-30% of children with ASD do not develop speech. As a result they may require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions. However, most interventions discussed in our present body of research focuses on basic communication skills like requesting. As such, it is important to investigate systematic teaching strategies for more complex requesting (i.e., manding) skills like requesting actions or requesting information. This research aims to extend previous manding literature by investigating effective methods for teaching advanced manding skills to children with ASD who communicate using an SGD. Three empirical intervention studies that a presented in this thesis evaluated the use of behaviour chain interruption strategy (BCIS) and systematic teaching procedures based on the principals of applied behaviour analysis (ABA), to teach advanced manding skills (i.e., manding for actions, manding for “where” questions, and persistence of “where questions”) for individuals with ASD who use speech-generating devices (SGD). Single-case research methodology was used via variations of the multiple baseline design (i.e., multiple probe multiple baseline design across participants and multiple probe multiple baseline across participants and behaviour chains) to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions. A total of three participants (2 boys and 1 girl, ages 13, 10, and 5) participated in the interventions that were designed to teach the targeted mand. Results of each study yielded positive results, in that each participant acquired the targeted skill. Generalisation (i.e., across stimuli, over time, and across communication partners) results were mixed, however with additional teaching with the use of systematic instruction they were also acquired. Although these results are preliminary, they indicated that advanced manding skills should be taught to children with ASD who communicate using SGDs and can be acquired with the use of systematic instruction.</p>

Effects of Intensive Interaction on the Social and Communication Behaviour of Three Students with Profound/Multiple Disabilities

<p>Objective: To evaluate the effects of an intervention, known as Intensive Interaction (II), on the social and communicative behaviour of three students with profound/multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Methods: Three secondary school-aged students with PMLD were observed, and their level of social and communicative engagement rated, during an initial baseline and subsequent intervention phase. The intervention was introduced across participants in a multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results: Social and communicative engagement increased during intervention relative to baseline for each of the three students. Conclusion: II appeared to be effective in increasing social and communicative engagement of the participants and may therefore be viewed as a potentially promising approach for other students with PMLD.</p>

Game-based training of selective voluntary motor control in children and youth with upper motor neuron lesions: protocol for a multiple baseline design study

Background Impairments of selective control of joint movements can have consequences for many activities of daily life, but there are only a few interventions to improve selective voluntary motor control (SVMC). We have developed a treatment option to specifically enhance SVMC exploiting the advantages of interactive computer play technology. It targets SVMC by training selective activation of a muscle or a selective joint movement while it provides immediate feedback about involuntary muscle activations/movements at an (unwanted) joint. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of this game-based intervention to enhance SVMC in children and youth with upper motor neuron lesions. Methods We will conduct a randomized, non-concurrent, multiple baseline design study. Patients aged between 6 and 20 years with reduced SVMC due to an upper motor neuron lesion will be included. During the baseline phase of random length, participants will attend their regular intensive rehabilitation program, and in the intervention phase, they will additionally complete 10 therapy sessions (à 40 min) of the game-based SVMC training. The primary outcome will be a short SVMC assessment conducted repeatedly throughout both phases, which quantifies movement accuracy and involuntary movements. Changes in clinical SVMC measures, muscle strength, cortical excitability, motor control of the inhibited/unwanted movement, and functional independence will be assessed as secondary outcomes. We will use a mixed-effect model to determine the change in the course of the primary outcome when the intervention is introduced, and we will compare changes between phases for secondary outcomes with paired tests. Discussion This study will provide first evidence whether SVMC can be improved with our game-based training. The single-case design takes into account the individualization required for this intervention, and it can help to address the challenges of intervention trials in our setting. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00025184, registered on 28.04.2021.

Effects of Intensive Interaction on the Social and Communication Behaviour of Three Students with Profound/Multiple Disabilities

<p>Objective: To evaluate the effects of an intervention, known as Intensive Interaction (II), on the social and communicative behaviour of three students with profound/multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Methods: Three secondary school-aged students with PMLD were observed, and their level of social and communicative engagement rated, during an initial baseline and subsequent intervention phase. The intervention was introduced across participants in a multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results: Social and communicative engagement increased during intervention relative to baseline for each of the three students. Conclusion: II appeared to be effective in increasing social and communicative engagement of the participants and may therefore be viewed as a potentially promising approach for other students with PMLD.</p>

Teaching a Multi-Step Requesting Sequence to Two Adolescents with Autism Using an iPod-based Speech Generating Device

<p>Many children with autism fail to develop speech and are therefore candidates for the use of speech-generating devices (SGDs). However, existing studies are limited because they have tended to focus only on teaching an initial single-step requesting sequence. This thesis aimed to extend the existing literature by evaluating intervention procedures for teaching two adolescents with autism to perform multistep requesting sequences that required navigating across two screen pages (Intervention 1). Intervention 2 focused on teaching the adolescents to turn on and unlock the screen of the SGD prior to initiating the previously learnt multi-step requesting sequence. Both interventions made use of response prompting, prompt fading, and differential reinforcement procedures and were evaluated using the multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results showed that both interventions were effective in teaching these adolescents to use the iPod Touch(R) to make a sequence of requests. The results of the present study suggest that adolescents with autism can successfully learn to use an iPod Touch(R) to independently perform multi-step requesting sequences.</p>

Teaching a Multi-Step Requesting Sequence to Two Adolescents with Autism Using an iPod-based Speech Generating Device

<p>Many children with autism fail to develop speech and are therefore candidates for the use of speech-generating devices (SGDs). However, existing studies are limited because they have tended to focus only on teaching an initial single-step requesting sequence. This thesis aimed to extend the existing literature by evaluating intervention procedures for teaching two adolescents with autism to perform multistep requesting sequences that required navigating across two screen pages (Intervention 1). Intervention 2 focused on teaching the adolescents to turn on and unlock the screen of the SGD prior to initiating the previously learnt multi-step requesting sequence. Both interventions made use of response prompting, prompt fading, and differential reinforcement procedures and were evaluated using the multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results showed that both interventions were effective in teaching these adolescents to use the iPod Touch(R) to make a sequence of requests. The results of the present study suggest that adolescents with autism can successfully learn to use an iPod Touch(R) to independently perform multi-step requesting sequences.</p>