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Effects of Conditional Discrimination Training and Choice Opportunities on Manding for Two Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language Delays

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Abstract

Our primary focus in this study was to examine the effect of conditional discrimination training on reducing high-rate mands in two young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and language delays. Our secondary purpose in this study was to examine the effect of alternative activities during extended delays when reinforcement was unavailable on children’s response allocation. First, we taught each child to emit discriminated responding by reinforcing his mand in one stimulus condition (i.e., green light) and not reinforcing it in a different stimulus condition (i.e., red light). Next, we examined children’s responding during a gradually-increased duration of the extinction condition when a choice for alternative activities was present. Finally, we examined maintenance of the newly acquired discriminated responding. Data indicate that our conditional discrimination training was effective in reducing children’s high-rate mands in the presence of a discriminative stimulus. Response allocation data suggest that both children showed a preference for a leisure activity during extended delays when reinforcement was unavailable. Both children maintained the skills 8-weeks after the intervention was discontinued.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Laura Chezan

  2. University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Erik Drasgow

  3. Autism Consulting Therapies, LLC, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

    Joseph Legg

  4. Peninsula School for Autism, Newport News, VA, USA

    Alanna Hollborn

Authors
  1. Laura Chezan
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  2. Erik Drasgow
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  3. Joseph Legg
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  4. Alanna Hollborn
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Correspondence to Laura Chezan.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participant were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from the parents of all children participating in this study.

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The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

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Chezan, L., Drasgow, E., Legg, J. et al. Effects of Conditional Discrimination Training and Choice Opportunities on Manding for Two Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language Delays. J Dev Phys Disabil 28, 557–579 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9493-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9493-1

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