Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing and Direct Reinforcement in Mand Training of Autistic Children
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Authors
Sturgeon, John A.
Issue Date
2007
Type
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Based on the behavioral concept of automatic reinforcement, the use
of both stimulus-stimulus pairing and direct reinforcement was
examined in relation to the acquisition of vocal vowel sounds in autistic
children with severe language delays in order to establish the
necessary vocalizations for intensive behavioral language therapy. It
was hypothesized that by first using a stimulus-stimulus pairing of
target vocalizations with a preferred stimulus, a speech sound could be
established as an automatic reinforcer, and then strengthened through
direct reinforcement to extend the duration of the learning by
establishing the vocalization as a mand. This experiment is a partial
replication of the Esch, Carr, and Michael (2005) study with the use of
additional non-target trials to strengthen learning during stimulusstimulus
pairing. Results demonstrate a gradual increase in target
vocalizations upon the use of direct reinforcement for 2 distinct vocal
topographies. The use of stimulus-stimulus pairings to establish a
novel vocalization in a non-verbal child with autism, paired with the
subsequent use of direct reinforcement in order to establish the new
vocalization as a mand function, appears to have demonstrated a
clinically significant effect in establishing the verbal repertoire
necessary in implementing a subsequent speech therapy program.
Description
1 broadside
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College.
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.