Increasing the number of play activities chosen by children with autism: Effects of exposure and response -independent reinforcers.
Item
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Title
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Increasing the number of play activities chosen by children with autism: Effects of exposure and response -independent reinforcers.
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Identifier
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AAI3159250
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identifier
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3159250
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Creator
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Reinecke, Dana R.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Nancy Hemmes
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Date
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2005
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Behavioral
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Abstract
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The present study examines the effects of exposure to play activities, with and without additional edible stimuli, on choice of these activities during discrete-trial teaching for children with autism. During baseline, discrete-trial teaching sessions were conducted once per day, in which students earned tokens for correct responding. Tokens were exchanged for the opportunity to choose among three play activities previously identified as low-preference for each student. In the intervention phase, the two play activities that had been chosen less frequently during baseline were targeted for treatment (exposure or exposure plus snack) while the third play activity served as a comparison stimulus. During the intervention phase, discrete-trial teaching sessions were conducted once per day as in baseline; however, a 5-minute period of exposure to one of the two least-frequently chosen play activities was presented prior to the discrete-trial teaching session. One of these play activities was always presented by itself (the exposure-only condition); the other was always presented along with a snack (the exposure + snack condition). In both cases, students were prompted to engage in the play activity in the event that they did not spontaneously do so. During discrete-trial teaching following each 5-minute exposure period, students were given free choice of the three play activities---the two exposed activities (only one of which was exposed in that session) and the comparison activity. The effects of this intervention were examined in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design, as well as an alternating-treatments design within subjects, and in an ABA reversal for one participant and an ABAB reversal for two participants. Each student chose the two exposed play activities with a greater frequency during intervention in comparison to baseline sessions. Furthermore, in each session, students tended to choose the specific play activity to which they had been exposed in that session. There was an effect of presentation of edible stimuli during exposure on choice of play activities for only one participant. It was concluded that exposure to play activities might be sufficient to increase choice of these activities for some students. Some possible explanations for the effectiveness of this procedure are discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
