Tiffany Kodak

Assessment and Behavioral Treatment of Feeding and Sleeping Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Children diagnosed with autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are more likely than other children to exhibit behaviors characteristic of a feeding or sleeping disorder. Parents of children with these disorders may be extremely concerned about the health and safety of their child. Sleeping and feeding problems can cause a great deal of stress to parents and other family members. Behavioral assessment and treatment procedures have been developed to address behavior problems related to sleeping and feeding disorders. This article reviews the literature about assessment and treatment, and provides recommendations regarding services to family members of individuals diagnosed with ASD and feeding or sleeping disorders.

Further Evaluation of Response Interruption and Redirection as Treatment for Stereotypy.

The effects of 2 forms of response interruption and redirection (RIRD)-motor RIRD and vocal RIRD-were examined with 4 boys with autism to evaluate further the effects of this intervention and its potential underlying mechanisms. In Experiment 1, the effects of motor RIRD and vocal RIRD on vocal stereotypy and appropriate vocalizations were compared for 2 participants. In Experiment 2, the effects of both RIRD procedures on both vocal and motor stereotypy and appropriate vocalizations were compared with 2 additional participants. Results suggested that RIRD was effective regardless of the procedural variation or topography of stereotypy and that vocal RIRD functioned as a punisher. This mechanism was further explored with 1 participant by manipulating the schedule of RIRD in Experiment 3. Results were consistent with the punishment interpretation.

A Comparison of Methods for Teaching Receptive Labeling to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Many early intervention curricular manuals recommend teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations (i.e., receptive labeling) using the simple-conditional method in which component simple discriminations are taught in isolation and in the presence of a distracter stimulus before the learner is required to respond conditionally. Some have argued that this procedure might be susceptible to faulty stimulus control such as stimulus overselectivity (Green, 2001). Consequently, there has been a call for the use of alternative teaching procedures such as the conditional-only method, which involves conditional discrimination training from the onset of intervention. The purpose of the present study was to compare the simple-conditional and conditional-only methods for teaching receptive labeling to 3 young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The data indicated that the conditional-only method was a more reliable and efficient teaching procedure. In addition, several error patterns emerged during training using the simple-conditional method. The implications of the results with respect to current teaching practices in early intervention programs are discussed.

Progressing from initially ambiguous functional analyses: three case examples.

Most often functional analyses are initiated using a standard set of test conditions, similar to those described by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman [Iwata, B. A., Dorsey, M. F., Slifer, K. J., Bauman, K. E., & Richman, G. S. (1994). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 197-209 (Reprinted from Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 3-20, 1982)]. These test conditions involve the careful manipulation of motivating operations, discriminative stimuli, and reinforcement contingencies to determine the events related to the occurrence and maintenance of problem behavior. Some individuals display problem behavior that is occasioned and reinforced by idiosyncratic or otherwise unique combinations of environmental antecedents and consequences of behavior, which are unlikely to be detected using these standard assessment conditions. For these individuals, modifications to the standard test conditions or the inclusion of novel test conditions may result in clearer assessment outcomes. The current study provides three case examples of individuals whose functional analyses were initially undifferentiated; however, modifications to the standard conditions resulted in the identification of behavioral functions and the implementation of effective function-based treatments.

An evaluation of programmed treatment integrity errors during discrete trial instruction

This study evaluated the effects of programmed treatment-integrity errors on skill acquisition for children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during discrete-trial instruction (DTI). In Study 1, we identified common treatment-integrity errors that occur during academic instruction in schools. In Study 2, we simultaneously manipulated 3 integrity errors during DTI. In Study 3, we evaluated the effects of each of the 3 integrity errors separately on skill acquisition during DTI. Results showed that participants either demonstrated slower skill acquisition or did not acquire the target skills when instruction included treatment-integrity errors.

ACQUISITION OF MANDS AND TACTS WITH CONCURRENT ECHOIC TRAINING

Previous studies have identified a number of effective teaching procedures to increase verbal behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. However, few studies have evaluated modifications of treatment procedures when children fail to acquire communication skills. In the present investigation, a 4-year-old boy with autism failed to acquire unprompted mands and tacts during mand-only and tact-only training. Results indicated that combining echoic training with mand or tact training increased unprompted manding and tacting.

INCREASING INSTRUCTIONAL EFFICIENCY BY PRESENTING ADDITIONAL STIMULI IN LEARNING TRIALS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

The current study examined the effectiveness and efficiency of presenting secondary targets within learning trials for 4 children with an autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, we compared 4 instructional conditions using a progressive prompt delay. In 3 conditions, we presented secondary targets in the antecedent or consequence portion of learning trials, or in the absence of prompts and reinforcement. In the fourth condition (control), we did not include secondary targets in learning trials. Results replicate and extend previous research by demonstrating that the majority of participants acquired secondary targets presented in the antecedent and consequent events of learning trials.

Evaluation of the Utility of a Discrete-Trial Functional Analysis in Early Intervention Classrooms.

We evaluated a discrete-trial functional analysis implemented by regular classroom staff in a classroom setting. The results suggest that the discrete-trial functional analysis identified a social function for each participant and may require fewer staff than standard functional analysis procedures.

Comparing preference assessments: selection- versus duration-based preference assessment procedures.

In the current investigation, the results of a selection- and a duration-based preference assessment procedure were compared. A Multiple Stimulus With Replacement (MSW) preference assessment [Windsor, J., Piché, L. M., & Locke, P. A. (1994). Preference testing: A comparison of two presentation methods. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 15, 439-455] and a variation of a Free-Operant (FO) preference assessment procedure [Roane, H. S., Vollmer, T. R., Ringdahl, J. E., & Marcus, B. A. (1998). Evaluation of a brief stimulus preference assessment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 31, 605-620] were conducted with four participants. A reinforcer assessment was conducted to determine which preference assessment procedure identified the item that produced the highest rates of responding. The items identified as most highly preferred were different across preference assessment procedures for all participants. Results of the reinforcer assessment showed that the MSW identified the item that functioned as the most effective reinforcer for two participants.

Teaching children with autism to engage in peer-directed mands using a picture exchange communication system.

We evaluated differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) plus prompting to increase peer-directed mands for preferred items using a picture exchange communication system (PECS). Two nonvocal individuals with autism participated. Independent mands with a peer increased with the implementation of DRA plus prompting for both participants. In addition, peers engaged in brief social interactions following the majority of mands for leisure items. These results suggest that teaching children to use PECS with peers may be one way to increase manding and social interactions in individuals with limited or no vocal repertoire.