We used a script-fading package to teach children with autism to initiate social interactions across various activities in the school setting, and we programmed for generalization in the untrained home setting with a sibling. The three participants, ages 8 to 10 years, demonstrated deficits in social initiations with their peers. During baseline,…

Better conversational skills correspond to a higher quality of life for adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we taught vocal--verbal responses discriminated by compound arrangements of concealed conversation partner mands to two college students with ASD. Participants learned to engage in self-questioning about…

Parental involvement in intervention can support intervention efficacy, improve generalization, and increase accessibility. The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is designed to teach 13 preschool life skills and prevent problem behavior. The current study explores the utility of the PLS program as delivered by parents. In Experiment 1, 6 parents…

Successful conversation requires that the speaker's behavior is sensitive to nonvocal listener responses. We observed children with autism spectrum disorder during conversation probes in which a listener periodically displayed nonvocal cues that she was uninterested in the conversation. We used behavioral skills training to teach conversation…

A multiple baseline design across participants was used to demonstrate the effects of a script-training procedure on the peer-to-peer communication of 3 children with autism spectrum disorder during group play with peers. Both scripted and unscripted initiations as well as responses to peers increased for all 3 participants. Stimulus…

We manipulated relative reinforcement for problem behavior and appropriate behavior using differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) without an extinction component. Seven children with developmental disabilities participated. We manipulated duration (Experiment 1), quality (Experiment 2), delay (Experiment 3), or a combination of…

A Social Stories[TM] intervention package was used to teach 2 students with autism to read Social Stories, answer comprehension questions, and engage in role plays. Appropriate social behaviors increased and inappropriate behaviors decreased for both participants, and the effects were maintained for up to 10 months. This intervention package…

Stimulus fading in the form of gradually increased exposure to a fear-evoking stimulus, often combined with differential reinforcement, has been used to treat phobias in children who are otherwise normal and in children with autism. In this investigation, we applied stimulus fading plus differential reinforcement with an adolescent with autism and…

Three studies compared the amount of social avoidance behavior by mentally retarded autistic children (N=10 and ages 4-13 years) during either appropriate child-preferred activities or adult determined activities. Results revealed a negative correlation between child-preferred behaviors and social avoidance behaviors. (Author/DB)

Four boys (five to seven years old) with autistic-like behavior were treated for self-stimulatory behavior with three different treatment procedures--time out, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), and overcorrection. (Author)

Appropriate play with toys was studied in two autistic children (8 and 6-years-old) with high occurrences of self-stimulatory behavior. (Author/CL)

The study assessed whether 4 students (ages 9-13) with severe autistic disabilities could learn to use a self-management treatment package to reduce stereotypic behavior. Use of the procedures greatly reduced levels of stereotypic behavior. Improvement also occurred for extended periods of time in new settings without the presence of a treatment…

A two-part study of 10 autistic children (mean age 10.5 years) was designed to assess the transfer of treatment gains across settings. (Author/SB)

The mother of a 3-year-old girl who showed "autistic-like" behavior was cued via a FM wireless microphone to systematically approve and disapprove of her child's behavior. After baselines were taken on two categories of problem behavior (Pre-Academic and Social Behavior) the social contingencies were applied successively to each category. The…