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Stimulus Over-Selectivity and Extinction-Induced Recovery of Performance as a Product of Intellectual Impairment and Autism Severity

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Abstract

The current experiment investigated the extent to which three variables (autism severity, nonverbal intellectual functioning, and verbal intellectual functioning) are associated with over-selective responding in a group of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This paper also analyzed the association of these three variables with the recovery of responding to a previously under-selected stimulus following extinction of the previously over-selected stimulus. The results demonstrated that participants showed over-selectivity, and demonstrated that extinction of the over-selected stimulus led to recovery of responding to the previously under-selected stimulus. For both over-selectivity, and recovery from over-selectivity, verbal functioning appeared to predict the effects most strongly, with greater over-selectivity in the lower functioning individuals, and greater recovery in the higher functioning individuals.

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Acknowledgments

This study was completed by the first author under the supervision of the second author as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Behavior Analysis in the National University of Ireland, Galway. Funding was received for this research from the Galway Doctoral Research Fellowship Scheme of the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies, National University of Ireland, Galway. Thanks to each of the participants and their families.

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Author notes

  1. Michelle P. Kelly

    Present address: Health and Special Education Division, Emirates College for Advanced Education, P.O. Box 126662, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Arts Millennium Building Extension (AMBE), National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland

    Michelle P. Kelly & Geraldine Leader

  2. Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Singleton Park Swansea, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK

    Phil Reed

Authors
  1. Michelle P. Kelly
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  2. Geraldine Leader
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  3. Phil Reed
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Correspondence to Michelle P. Kelly.

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Kelly, M.P., Leader, G. & Reed, P. Stimulus Over-Selectivity and Extinction-Induced Recovery of Performance as a Product of Intellectual Impairment and Autism Severity. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3098–3106 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2466-x

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