Stimulus Control Procedure for Reducing Vocal Stereotypies in an Autistic Child

Stereotyped vocal behavior exhibited by a seven-year-old child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and maintained by automatic reinforcement was placed under stimulus control through discrimination training. The training consisted of matching a green card (SD) with free access to vocal stereotypy and a red card (SD-absent) with interruption of stereotypy and vocal redirection. At the same time, appropriate behaviors were reinforced. After discrimination training, the child rarely engaged in vocal stereotypy in the red card condition and, to a greater extent, in the green card condition, demonstrating the ability to discriminate between the two different situations. After the training, the intervention began. Once they reached the latency criterion in the red stimulus condition, the child could have free access to vocal stereotypy (green card condition). The latency criterion for engaging in stereotypy was gradually increased during the red card condition and progressively decreased during the green card condition. The intervention follows a changing criterion design. This study indicates that stimulus discrimination training is a useful intervention to reduce vocal stereotypy in an autistic child.

Teacher Coaching: Increasing Deaf Students’ Active Engagement Through Flexible Instructional Arrangements

The study examined the effects of a coaching intervention on teachers’ ability to implement academically responsive instruction through flexible instructional arrangements in self-contained classrooms for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, as well as the impact of instructional arrangements on students’ academic engagement. Using a changing criterion design replicated across teachers, three-teacher participants with diverse backgrounds received differentiated coaching to implement flexible instructional arrangements. Results showed that coaching had an impact on all three teachers’ implementation of flexible instructional arrangements. Concomitantly, students increased their active engagement and decreased passive engagement when they spent less time in whole class and more time in small group and child-managed arrangements. Teachers maintained the use of flexible instructional arrangements and students continued to be more actively engaged than pre-intervention. Limitations and implications for practice and research are discussed.

Training Petting Zoo Sheep to Act Like Petting Zoo Sheep: An Empirical Evaluation of Response-Independent Schedules and Shaping with Negative Reinforcement

Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the present study, we examine the use of response-independent food schedules and shaping for increasing approach and contact behaviors in petting zoo sheep. In Experiment 1, a fixed-time (FT) 15 s food schedule was used to effectively increase approach and contact behaviors in one sheep. In Experiment 2, negative reinforcement in the form of removal of the presence of a trainer was made contingent on the successful completion of approximations within a shaping procedure and later switched to food rewards. A changing-criterion design was used to empirically examine the effects of the shaping procedure during each step of the program. The result is one of the first studies to demonstrate the utility of using negative reinforcement within a shaping procedure to successfully intervene on approach/avoidance behaviors in an applied animal setting.

EFEKTIVITAS TEKNIK REPEATED ORAL READING DAN IMPLEMENTASI TEKNIK-TEKNIK MODIFIKASI PERILAKU DALAM MENINGKATKAN KELANCARAN MEMBACA PADA ANAK DENGAN MILD INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menguji efektivitas teknik repeated reading dan implementasi teknik prompt, reinforcement, serta positive practice dalam meningkatkan kelancaran membaca pada anak dengan mild intellectual disability. Penelitian single case study ini dilakukan dalam 20 sesi dengan changing criterion design. Partisipan dalam penelitian ini adalah anak laki-laki berusia 12 tahun dengan mild intellectual disability yang belum dapat membaca dengan lancar, meskipun sudah mampu mengeja. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa teknik repeated reading dan implementasi teknik-teknik modifikasi perilaku dapat meningkatkan kelancaran membaca pada anak dengan mild intellectual disability dengan efektif.

Treatment of Elopement Without Blocking With a Child With Autism

Elopement is a dangerous behavior common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Relative to other forms of problematic behavior, elopement has received little attention in both assessment and treatment. The current study entailed a functional analysis of elopement of one child with ASD, results of which suggested a partially automatic function. We then evaluated a differential reinforcement procedure, along with a rule, which successfully decreased elopement without the use of blocking. A changing-criterion design embedded within a withdrawal design was used to gradually increase the criterion for maintaining a close proximity to a therapist prior to being allowed to run.

Cycling for Students With ASD: Self-Regulation Promotes Sustained Physical Activity

Individuals with autism often lack motivation to engage in sustained physical activity. Three adolescents with severe autism participated in a 16-week program and each regularly completed 30 min of cycling at the end of program. This study investigated the effect of a self-regulation instructional strategy on sustained cycling, which included self-monitoring, goal setting, and self-reinforcement. Of particular interest was the development of self-efficacy during the physical activity as a mediator of goal setting. A multiple baseline changing criterion design established the effectiveness of the intervention. The results suggest that self-regulation interventions can promote sustained participation in physical activity for adolescents with severe autism.