Abstract
Most abduction-prevention strategies focus on teaching children safe responses to lures from strangers; however, statistics suggest that the majority of nonfamily abductions are conducted by people who are, to some extent, familiar to the child. We evaluated the effects of a safe-word intervention to address this discrepancy and decrease the likelihood that a child will leave with a person not appointed by his or her parents, regardless of whether the person is familiar or unfamiliar to the child. Five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, aged 4–9 years old, were taught a 4-part response to lures from familiar and unfamiliar adults using a behavioral skills training package with in situ training added as needed. All participants met initial mastery criteria, with 4 of the 5 children requiring the addition of in situ training, and all maintained mastery levels at a 2-month follow-up.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Shayne Gazmin, Bhawandeep Bains, Rocio Nuñez, Alex Jones, Blain Hockridge, Geoff Browning, Michelle Avila, and Givan Bznuni for their assistance with this project.
This study is based on a thesis submitted by the first author, under the supervision of the second author, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master of arts degree in psychology at California State University, Fresno.
Funding
This research was supported, in part, by a Faculty Sponsored Student Research Award from the College of Science and Mathematics at California State University, Fresno.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (California State University, Fresno, Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects, protocol #774 ) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Research Highlights
• Safety skills, such as abduction prevention, are important skills to teach to children, including those with autism spectrum disorder.
• Previous studies have focused on stranger danger; however, data suggest that familiar people are often the perpetrators in child abductions.
• Behavioral skills training and in situ training were used to teach children with autism spectrum disorder a safe-word response to familiar and unfamiliar confederates.
• A four-part response was mastered and maintained for all participants.
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Rodriguez, C.N., Jackson, M.L. A Safe-Word Intervention for Abduction Prevention in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Behav Analysis Practice 13, 872–882 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00418-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00418-x