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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41st Annual Convention; San Antonio, TX; 2015

Event Details


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Symposium #407
Further Development in the Use of Activity Schedules and Script Fading with Children with Autism
Monday, May 25, 2015
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
217B (CC)
Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Azure Pellegrino (Utah State University)
Abstract: Activity schedules and script fading have been used to teach children with autism a variety of independent and social skills. This symposium investigates extending the research in these interventions. Specifically, the populations who implement script fading procedures, the settings in which activity schedules are used, and the modalities of activity schedules are discussed. Akers, Higbee, Reinert, and Pollard assessed the fidelity of a script fading intervention for children with autism implemented by their typically developing siblings during play, as well as the comments made by the children with autism. Akers, Higbee, Pollard, Gerencser, and Pellegrino examined the use of activity schedules on appropriate play of children with autism in a playground setting. Markham, Giles, and Kanoujiya investigated acquisition of activity schedule skills using tablet-based or book-based activity schedules in children with autism, in addition to their preference for each modality. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Keyword(s): activity schedule, play skills, script fading, technology
 
Sibling-Implemented Script Fading to Promote Play-Based Statements in Children with Autism
JESSICA AKERS (Utah State University), Thomas S. Higbee (Utah State University), Kassidy Reinert (Utah State University), Joy Pollard (Behavior Change Institute)
Abstract: Children with ASD have deficits in the area of social communication; this includes a lack of appropriate communication during play. Script fading is a technology that has been used to teach a variety of social skills to children with ASD. Parents have accurately implemented this procedure with their children and this resulted in an increase in commenting during play. The current study extends these findings to examine if typically developing siblings can implement this intervention with fidelity and if the child with ASD will make more comments after the intervention is initiated. Three toy sets were used in the study and scripts were provided for only one of the toys. Results for the first participant support the claim that typically developing siblings can accurately implement the script fading procedure and the comments made by the child with ASD increased after this training was initiated.
 
An Evaluation of Photographic Activity Schedules to Increase Independent Playground Skills in Young Children with Autism
AZURE PELLEGRINO (Utah State University), Jessica Akers (Utah State University), Thomas S. Higbee (Utah State University), Joy Pollard (Behavior Change Institute), Kristina Gerencser (Utah State University )
Abstract: Children with autism have difficulty learning to play appropriately due to their deficits with social skills and their excessive engagement in repetitive behaviors. Photographic activity schedules have been used to teach children with autism to independently complete a sequence of activities. Activity schedules may be an effective method to teach appropriate play on the playground since many children with autism engage in repetitive play or self-stimulatory behavior during recess instead of completing a variety of playground activities. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a photographic activity schedule to increase appropriate play skills in young children with autism on the playground. The results for the first participant show that when the activity schedule was present the child with ASD engaged in more activities than when the schedule was absent.
 
Comparing Book- and Tablet-Based Picture Activity Schedules: Acquisition and Preference
VICTORIA MARKHAM (University of South Wales), Aimee Giles (University of South Wales), Asha Kanoujiya (University of South Wales)
Abstract: Picture activity schedules (PAS) consist of a sequence of images which represent the tasks or activities the person is to follow and the order in which they should be completed. Following training on PAS, individuals with learning disabilities have increased independent task engagement (Banda & Grimmet, 2008; MacDuff, Krantz, & McClannahan, 1993). Picture activity schedules have traditionally been presented in a book format (e.g., Bryan & Gast, 2000; MacDuff et al., 1993). However, PAS have recently been evaluated on devices such as an iPod™ touch (Carlile, S. Reeve, K. Reeve, & DeBar, 2013). The present study compared the efficiency of PAS acquisition on book- or tablet-based schedules. In addition, participant preference for each PAS modality was assessed. Three boys attending a university-based clinic for children with autism participated. Participants were taught to follow the schedules using both book- and tablet-based modalities. Following acquisition in each condition, a concurrent-chains preference assessment was conducted to evaluate participant preference for each modality. For two participants, the book-based PAS was acquired in fewer training sessions compared to the tablet-based PAS. For the third participant, the tablet-based PAS was acquired faster. Preference for book- or tablet-based PAS were idiosyncratic across participants.
 

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