Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-c654p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-27T16:32:45.162Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sensory Reinforcement with Autistic Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

L. J. V. Baker  and
Yvonne Milner
L. J. V. Baker
Affiliation:
Trinity CollegeDublin, Ireland
Yvonne Milner
Affiliation:
Trinity CollegeDublin, Ireland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Three non-verbal, autistic boys of 9, 12 and 16 years served as subjects in two experiments and a nurse play-therapist acted as the agent. The first experiment compared the effects upon a motor coordination task of each subject's preferred sensory reinforcer with those of the sensory reinforcer preferred by the other two subjects. On-task performances were maintained by prompting and by contingent presentation of each reinforcer in a multiple-baseline design across subjects. All subjects showed higher levels of on-task performance for their preferred sensory activity. In the second experiment a multielement-baseline design compared the effects of the preferred sensory reinforcer with those of a preferred edible reinforcer. All subjects showed higher levels of on-task performance for their preferred sensory activity. Inter-observer reliability remained above 90%. A role for sensory reinforcement in training autistic children is suggested.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 328 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antonitis, J. J. and Barnes, G. W. (1961). Group operant behavior: an extension of individual methodology to a real life situation. Journal of Genetic Psychology 98, 95–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bailey, J. and Meyerson, L. (1969). Vibration as a reinforcer with a profoundly retarded child. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 2, 135–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benton, R. G. and Melford, R. B. (1967). Projector slide changing and focusing as operant reinforcers. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 10, 479–484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blake, P. and Moss, T. (1967). The development of socialization skills in an electively mute child. Behaviour Research and Therapy 5, 349–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buddenhagen, R. (1971). Establishing Vocalizations in Mute Mongoloid Children. Champaign, Ill.: Research Press.Google Scholar
Cavalier, A. R. and Ferretti, R. P. (1980). Stereotyped behavior, alternative behavior and collateral effects: a comparison of four intervention procedures. Journal of Mental Deficiency Research 24, 219–229.Google ScholarPubMed
Denny, M. (1980). Reducing self-stimulatory behavior of mentally retarded persons by alternative positive practice. American Journal of Mental Deficiency 84, 610–615.Google ScholarPubMed
Ferrari, M. and Harris, S. L. (1981). The limits and motivating potential of sensory stimuli as reinforcers for autistic children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 14, 339–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferster, C. B. (1961). Positive reinforcement and behavioral deficits of autistic children. Child Development 32, 437–456.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fineman, K. R. (1968). Visual colour reinforcement in establishment of speech by an autistic child. Perceptual and Motor Skills 26, 761–762.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, S. L. and Wolchik, S. A. (1979). Suppression of self-stimulation: three alternative strategies. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 12, 185–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hewitt, F. M. (1965). Teaching speech to an autistic child through operant conditioning. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 35, 927–936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jellis, T. (1972). The back projection of kaleidoscope patterns as a technique for eliciting verbalizations in an autistic child: a preliminary note. British Journal of Disorders of Communication 7, 152–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child 2, 181–197.Google Scholar
Kish, G. B. (1955). Learning when the onset of the illumination is used as reinforcing stimulus. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 48, 261–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kish, G. B. (1966). Studies of sensory reinforcement. In Operant Behavior. Honig, W. K. (Ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.Google Scholar
Koegel, R. L. and Egel, A. L. (1979). Motivating autistic children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 88, 418–426.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kratochwill, T. R. (1978). Single-Subject Research: Strategies for Evaluating Change. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lovaas, O. I. (1967). A behavior therapy approach to the treatment of childhood schizophrenia. In Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology, Vol. 1, Hill, J. P. (Ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Lovaas, O. I. and Newsom, C. D. (1976). Behavior modification with psychotic children. In Handbook of Behavior Modification and Behavior Therapy. Leitenberg, H. (Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Lovaas, O. I., Litrownik, A. and Mann, R. (1971). Response latencies to auditory stimuli in autistic children engaged in self-stimulatory behaviour. Behaviour Research and Therapy 9, 39–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovaas, O. I., Schaeffer, B. and Simmons, J. S. (1965). Experimental studies in childhood schizophrenia: building social behavior in autistic children by use of electric shock. Journal of Experimental Research in Personality 1, 99–109.Google Scholar
Premack, D. (1959). Toward empirical behavior laws. I. Positive reinforcement. Psychological Review 66, 219–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Premack, D. (1965). Reinforcement theory. In Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 13 123–180. Levine, D.Google Scholar
Rehegen, N. J. and Thelen, M. H. (1972). Vibration as a positive reinforcer for retarded children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 81, 162–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rheingold, H. L., Stanley, W. C. and Doyle, G. A. (1964). Visual and auditory reinforcement of a manipulatory response in the young child. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 1, 316–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidman, M. (1960). Tactics of Scientific Research. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Siqueland, E. R. (1968). Reinforcement patterns and extinctions in human newborns. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 6, 431–442.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevenson, H. W. and Odom, R. D. (1961). Effects of pre-training on the reinforcement value of visual stimuli. Child Development 32, 739–744.Google Scholar
Timberlake, W. and Allison, J. (1974). Response deprivation: an empirical approach to instrumental performance. Psychological Review 81, 146–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.