Abstract
Two experiments examined whether over-selectivity is the product of a post-acquisition performance deficit, rather than an attention problem. In both experiments, children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder were presented with a trial-and-error discrimination task using two, two-element stimuli and over-selected in both studies. After behavioral control by the previously over-selected stimulus was extinguished, behavioral control by the previously under-selected cue emerged without direct training. However, this effect was only found in higher-functioning children, and not with more severely impaired children. These findings suggest that over-selectivity is not simply due to a failure to attend to all of the stimuli presented. They also suggest that extinction of over-selected stimuli may be a fruitful line of intervention for clinical intervention for some individuals.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the kind participation of the children and their parents in this research, and we thank them very much for their time. Thanks are due to the schools who participated. Thanks are due to Lisa A. Osborne for her support. This research was funded in part by a grant from the Disabilities Trust to the first author.
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Reed, P., Broomfield, L., McHugh, L. et al. Extinction of Over-selected Stimuli Causes Emergence of Under-selected Cues in Higher-functioning Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 290–298 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0629-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0629-8