Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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48th Annual Convention; Boston, MA; 2022

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Symposium #57
CE Offered: BACB
Increasing Compliance With COVID-19-Related Preventative Health Measures
Saturday, May 28, 2022
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Meeting Level 2; Room 254B
Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Shawn J Janetzke (The New England Center for Children)
Discussant: Wayne W. Fisher (Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School)
CE Instructor: Shawn J Janetzke, M.S.
Abstract:

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder can have a particularly challenging time completing necessary preventative measures for the health and safety of themselves and those around them. This has become especially evident during the past year as society responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. Limiting the spread of viruses, such a COVID-19, is extremely important. This symposium includes two presentations on increasing compliance with COVID-19-related preventative practices such as mask wearing and nasopharyngeal testing. In the first study, a graduated exposure procedure was used to teach mask wearing for a minimum of one hour in an early intensive behavioral intervention clinic to three children diagnosed with autism. The second study, evaluated the effects of differential reinforcement without extinction and stimulus fading on disruptive behavior during a nasopharyngeal swab procedure for five individuals diagnosed with autism. Together, these papers contribute to the research on methods used to increase compliance with preventative health measures in individuals with autism by providing efficient methods to increase compliance in the absence of more intrusive and restrictive procedures. Implications of the findings of each study will be discussed.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): COVID-19, Differential Reinforcement, Graduated Exposure, Stimulus Fading
Target Audience:

Target audience is graduate students, practitioners - BCaBA, BCBA, and BCBA-D Necessary prerequisite skills and competencies the audience should have include: Functional Analysis, Preference Assessments, Differential Reinforcement, Stimulus Fading, Graduated Exposure, Generalization

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Describe the importance of increasing tolerance among individuals with developmental disabilities and possible adverse effects if not addressed; (2) Describe how to increase compliance during routine medical and preventative health procedures among this population; (3) Describe and design a graduated exposure intervention to increase tolerance (4) Describe and design a differential reinforcement without extinction and differential without extinction plus stimulus fading interventions to decrease disruption and increase compliance
 

Evaluation of a Graduated Exposure Procedure to Teach Extended Mask Wearing to Children With Autism

CHRISTINA MARIE SHEPPARD (Florida Institute of Technology), Hallie Marie Ertel (Florida Institute of Technology), David A. Wilder (Florida Institute of Technology), Ansley Catherine Hodges (Nemours Children's Hospital )
Abstract:

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended that everyone 2 years and older wear a face mask while in a community setting. However, children with autism may be reluctant to wear a mask, particularly for extended durations. In the current study, we implemented a graduated exposure procedure to teach mask wearing for a minimum of one hour in an early intensive behavioral (EIBI) intervention clinic to 3 children diagnosed with autism. We subsequently probed mask wearing, and if necessary implemented the graduated exposure procedure, in each participant’s home and in a mock physician’s office. Finally, we collected probe data on mask wearing in another community setting and one month post-treatment maintenance data in the EIBI clinic. During baseline, participants wore masks for 0 s to 5 min. After treatment, all participants wore the mask for at least one hour in each setting, with maintenance probes indicating 4-5 hour mask tolerance.

 

Increasing Compliance With Nasopharyngeal Swab Procedures

SHAWN J JANETZKE (The New England Center for Children), Jason C. Bourret (New England Center for Children), Makenzie Briere (The New England Center for Children)
Abstract:

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can exhibit low levels of compliance with, and engage in disruptive behavior during medical procedures. Research has shown that differential reinforcement without extinction and stimulus fading have been successful in increasing compliance with these procedures. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of differential reinforcement without extinction and differential reinforcement without extinction plus stimulus fading on disruptive behavior during a nasopharyngeal swab procedure, often used to test for COVID-19 and the flu, for five participants with autism. A functional analysis showed that disruptive behavior was maintained by escape from the nasal swab procedure. Differential reinforcement without extinction alone was successful for one of the five participants to increase compliance with and decrease disruptive behavior during a nasopharyngeal swab procedure. The addition of stimulus fading was effective in increasing compliance and decreasing disruptive behavior for the remaining four participants. Maintenance of compliance with the nasopharyngeal swab procedure was observed for all five of the participants.

 

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