Parents are the primary source of support for their children and can become principal interventionists for preventing and treating their child’s challenging behavior. Yet, providing adequate and ...adapted training for culturally diverse families can be difficult due to the increase of international migration and the diversity of languages spoken worldwide. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated 13 studies that implemented training for caregivers with limited proficiency in the majority language. Overall, the results suggested a moderate-small treatment effects on positive and negative parenting practices. The results also indicated moderate-small treatment effects on challenging behaviors exhibited by both individuals with developmental disabilities and typically developmental. Findings are discussed in terms of strategies used and recommendations for future research and practice.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities (ASD/DD) often need to be explicitly taught personal hygiene skills (e.g., menstrual care, penile care and washing and ...cleaning of intimate body parts). The taboo and private nature of intimate care skills has often led practitioners to avoid teaching these skills which may leave individuals with ASD/DD more vulnerable to abuse and other health concerns. The purpose of the current synthesis was to examine interventions to teach intimate care skills to individuals with ASD/DD, and examine the social validity of these interventions. The findings suggest that interventions for acquisition of personal hygiene skills can benefit individuals with ASD/DD. Strengths, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The presence of stereotypy is one of the core features exhibited by individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Stereotypy can interfere with academic engagement and become a major ...barrier to appropriate education and social development of individuals with ASD. Studies have shown that antecedent physical exercise can produce reductions in stereotypy and positive collateral effects. The purpose of the current systematic review was to examine the collateral effects of antecedent physical exercise on stereotypy and engagement in nonstereotypic behaviors. The findings suggest that individuals with ASD can benefit from incorporating antecedent physical exercise with regard to stereotypy and other positive collateral behaviors. Implications of the results and areas for further research are discussed.
We evaluated resurgence of mands exhibited by 3 individuals with autism and histories of problem behavior. The experimental conditions consisted of (a) reinforcement of a mand, (b) extinction, (c) ...reinforcement of a 2nd mand, and (d) extinction to test for resurgence of the 1st mand. This 4‐component sequence was implemented 3 times with each participant, and resurgence occurred during 8 of 9 tests for resurgence. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the prevention of clinical relapse.
We evaluated the effects of lag schedules of reinforcement and functional communication training (FCT) on mand variability and problem behavior in two children with autism spectrum disorder. ...Specifically, we implemented FCT with increasing lag schedules and compared its effects on problem behavior with baseline conditions. The results showed that both participants exhibited low rates of problem behavior during treatment relative to baseline during and following schedule thinning (up to a Lag 5 schedule arrangement). Variable and total mands remained high during schedule thinning. With one participant, variable manding persisted when the value of the lag schedule was reduced to zero. The current results are discussed in terms of implications for training multiple mand topographies during FCT for the potential prevention and/or mitigation of clinical relapse during challenges to treatment.
Adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have persistent difficulty developing and generalizing social communication and interaction skills. Emerging research has ...demonstrated that people with ASD have benefited from strategies that embed multiple-exemplar training (MET) to increase generalization of social skills. However, to date, no systematic review has examined the effects of MET on stimulus or response generalization of social skills. As such, the purpose of the current study was to analyze the effects of MET on generalization of social skills with people aged 13–30 diagnosed with ASD. We reviewed 11 studies; results suggested that MET was effective for producing stimulus generalization of social skills.
Interventions aimed at increasing communicative response variability hold particular importance for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Several procedures have been demonstrated in the ...applied and translational literature to increase response variability. However, little is known about the relationship between reinforcer magnitude and response variability. In the basic literature, Doughty, Giorno, and Miller evaluated the effects of reinforcer magnitude on behavioral variability by manipulating reinforcer magnitude across alternating relative frequency threshold contingencies, with results suggesting that larger reinforcers induced repetitive responding. The purpose of this study was to translate Doughty et al.’s findings to evaluate the relative effects of different magnitudes of reinforcement on communicative response variability in children with ASD. A Lag 1 schedule of reinforcement was in place during each condition within an alternating treatments design. Magnitudes of reinforcement contingent on variable communicative responding were manipulated across the two conditions. Inconsistent with basic findings, the results showed higher levels of variable communicative responding associated with the larger magnitude of reinforcement. These outcomes may have potential implications for interventions aimed at increasing response variability in individuals with ASD, as well as future research in this area.
► We reviewed 14 experimental studies comparing different preference assessments. ► The studies were summarized in terms of the predictive validity and consistency. ► Most of the assessments ...identified the most effective reinforcing stimulus. ► MSWO may be the most efficient and reliable preference assessment procedure.
We reviewed 14 experimental studies comparing different preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities that were published in peer-reviewed journals between 1985 and 2012. Studies were summarized based on the following six variables: (a) the number of participants, (b) the type of disability, (c) the number and type of stimuli, (d) the average duration of administration, (e) compared procedures, and (f) results. Studies were also classified in terms of the predictive validity and consistency of the preference assessment results. The results suggest the preference assessment procedures that may produce more accurate predictions for the reinforcing effects of identified stimuli and consistent preference results. The findings are discussed in relation to the previous literature. Evidence based modifications of the most efficient preference assessment are also discussed.
Idiosyncratic patterns of speech are common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can greatly affect their ability to participate successfully in various social and educational ...settings. We evaluated a treatment package with three children with ASD and a history of loud speech. A multiple baseline across participants design and a decibel meter application were used to evaluate whether the multi‐component intervention (i.e., a rule, differential reinforcement, and in vivo feedback) would effectively reduce participants' rates of loud speech. The results showed that the intervention decreased rates of loud speech for all participants. Results are discussed in terms of (a) their extension of the literature regarding speech prosody in ASD by demonstrating an effective intervention for loud speech, (b) clinical implications, and (c) potential future research regarding this nuanced, yet crucial aspect of social communication, including appropriate methods for addressing loud speech in individuals with ASD.
Children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities often exhibit invariant responding (i.e., restricted behavioral repertoires), deficits in communication, and challenging ...behavior. Approaches demonstrated in the basic and applied literature to increase response variability include extinction, lag schedules of reinforcement, and percentile schedules of reinforcement. Results of basic studies have also indicated that delays to reinforcement often produce increases in response variability. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of a delay to reinforcement on the variability of communication responses during functional communication training with individuals with developmental disabilities and histories of engaging in challenging behavior. Results indicated that delays to reinforcement increased mand variability with all four participants with variable effects on challenging behavior across participants.
