Skill-based treatment of interfering stereotypy

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often characterized by repetitive behaviors, known as stereotypy.
• High-rate, interfering stereotypy can significantly impede learning and social interaction in autistic students.
• Effective interventions are needed to manage challenging behaviors in educational settings for autistic individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a combined intervention strategy for reducing interfering stereotypy in autistic students.
• To assess the acquisition of functional communication and tolerance skills.
• To improve task completion accuracy in the participants.

Main Methods:

• A chained schedule for treating stereotypy was integrated with skill-based treatment for challenging behavior.
• Differential reinforcement was used to encourage functional communication, toleration, and task completion.
• Stimulus control procedures (S- and S+) were implemented to differentiate between instructional and escape periods.

Main Results:

• All participants acquired functional communication and tolerance skills.
• Effective discriminative control was established over both motor and vocal stereotypy.
• Task accuracy improved to over 80% for all three students.

Conclusions:

• The combined intervention effectively reduced stereotypy and enhanced adaptive skills in autistic students.
• The intervention demonstrated social validity, as confirmed by teachers.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for addressing challenging behaviors in autism.