The effects of deprivation, presession exposure, and preferences on teaching manding to children with autism

Abstract

The effects of at least 23-hr deprivation, 5-min presession exposure, and individual preference on the acquisition of mands were investigated in these studies. Two boys who were 2.5 years old and diagnosed with autism participated in the studies. Preference assessments were conducted to identify preference levels of various toys. Toys of various preferences were then assigned to either a 23-hr deprivation or 5-min presession exposure condition for mand training. Both deprivation and preference level affected acquisition of mands. Implications for teaching children to mand are discussed.

Figure 1

Study 1 Preference Assessments: The top panel displays the frequency of Sean's individual toy selection for day one, day two, and the total of these two days. The bottom panel displays the duration (in seconds) of Billy's engagement with each toy.

Figure 2

Study 1 Mand Training for Sean: The top panel displays the cumulative number of correct mands across sessions (high vs. medium vs. low preferences). The bottom panel displays the cumulative number of correct mands across sessions (23-hr deprivation vs. 5-min presession exposure). The session that Sean reached criterion for each toy is also shown in the bottom panel.

Figure 3

Study 1 Mand Training for Billy: The top panel displays the cumulative number of correct mands across sessions (high vs. low preferences). The bottom panel displays the cumulative number of correct mands across sessions (23-hr deprivation vs. 5-min presession exposure). The session that Billy reached criterion for each toy is also shown in the bottom panel.

Figure 4

Study 2 Preference Assessment and Mand Training for Sean: The top panel displays the frequency each toy was picked for day one, two, and three, and the total frequencies. Only go-cart, Ernie®, and cycle were included in the preference assessment on the third day. The middle panel displays the cumulative number of correct mands across sessions (high vs. low preferences). The bottom panel displays the cumulative number of correct mands across sessions (23-hr deprivation vs. 5-min presession exposure) and the session that Sean reached criterion for each toy.