Training Parents To Systematically Assess And Use Their Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder's Highly Preferred Items To Both Cue And Reinforce Desired Behavior Responses In Community Settings

Abstract

The current study assessed the effectiveness of a training package used to teach parents to conduct a preference assessment and use the most highly preferred items to guide the behavior choices of their child with autism spectrum disorder&rsquos (ASD) who display undesirable behaviors when in community settings. The participants were one parent and a child with ASD from three different families. The child had been observed to display undesirable behaviors in at least two community settings prior to the intervention. An A–B–A–B reversal design was used in which the duration of continual desired behaviors was the dependent (outcome) variable. The study examined both a traditional means of reinforcement delivery and a method not previously researched. The results were that all three children reached their treatment goal in two community settings, each for two consecutive sessions. This outcome was taken to validate the parents&rsquo assessment of their child&rsquos highly preferred items and their utility in reducing the frequency of the child&rsquos undesirable behaviors. Brief reversals of contingencies were used to demonstrate experimental control of the intervention procedures.