The Amelioration of Self-Stimulation in an Autistic Teenager: A View Toward the Environment
Slaw, Kenneth Michael
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69135
Description
Title
The Amelioration of Self-Stimulation in an Autistic Teenager: A View Toward the Environment
Author(s)
Slaw, Kenneth Michael
Issue Date
1987
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Clinical
Abstract
The effect of behavioral intervention on the frequency of self-stimulation emitted by an autistic teenager was studied. Emphasis was placed not only on the strength or weakness of treatment effects, but the influence various environmental stimuli had on the subject's behavior. The subject was studied in three natural environments: a vocational workshop, at school, and at home. A multiple baseline design across settings was attempted but not achieved. Data collection periods were divided into intervention and withdrawal periods so that "reversal" effects could be observed without having to withdraw treatment for several days at a time. Data were analyzed using both graphic and statistical techniques.
Self-stimulatory behavior was reduced (and appropriate behavior increased) significantly in the workshop setting using ratio reinforcement. Self-stimulatory behavior was also reduced significantly in the home setting using interval reinforcement; however, non self-stimulatory behaviors increased rather than appropriate behaviors. No significant effects were found in the school setting. The failure of treatment in the school setting may have been due to the abundance of distracting stimuli present in this environment. Treatment effects were corroborated by the results in withdrawal trials providing evidence of the strength of certain treatments.
Future behavioral research should focus increasingly on prospective environmental variables.
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