Poster Session #1: South UC Ballroom
The Effectiveness of an Individualized Treatment Program for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Anisa Goforth
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Psychology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social communication, social interactions and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). Symptoms associated with social communication and interactions are particularly debilitating due to its association with feelings of loneliness, fewer friendships, and less satisfaction with friendships (Bauminger & Kasari, 2000). Disruptive behaviors are also concerning as they can interfere with the education of both the child creating the distraction and the others in the class. The behaviors also affect the social interactions of the child creating the disruptions (Scattone, Wilcynski, Edwards, & Rabian, 2002). These symptoms make it difficult for children with ASD to maintain relationships with peers, family, teachers, and others. This study examined the effectiveness of an individualized treatment program for a child with ASD and disruptive behaviors, who participated in a social skills group. Five children with ASD participated in an 8-week intervention called Youth Engaged Through Intervention (YETI) at a university clinic. One 9-year-old child “Brandon” exhibited disruptive behaviors, which were operationally defined as talking out of turn, using objects to make noise, and using high pitched, loud, or repetitive verbal expressions. An ABA single-subject methodology was used to examine whether adult attention and structured ignoring reduced the number of disruptive behaviors. Two researchers collected data using momentary time sampling to track the occurrence of disruptive behaviors. Momentary time sampling is an interval recording method where an observer looks up at the end of a 30 second interval, to see if the behavior is presented. A 15-minute observation occurred during the beginning, middle, and end of each session. Inter-rater reliability was obtained by comparing notations of behavior and discussing the disagreements between recordings. Results of the single subject intervention suggest that attention and structured ignoring was effective in changing “Brandon’s” behavior.
Category
Social Sciences
The Effectiveness of an Individualized Treatment Program for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
South UC Ballroom
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social communication, social interactions and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). Symptoms associated with social communication and interactions are particularly debilitating due to its association with feelings of loneliness, fewer friendships, and less satisfaction with friendships (Bauminger & Kasari, 2000). Disruptive behaviors are also concerning as they can interfere with the education of both the child creating the distraction and the others in the class. The behaviors also affect the social interactions of the child creating the disruptions (Scattone, Wilcynski, Edwards, & Rabian, 2002). These symptoms make it difficult for children with ASD to maintain relationships with peers, family, teachers, and others. This study examined the effectiveness of an individualized treatment program for a child with ASD and disruptive behaviors, who participated in a social skills group. Five children with ASD participated in an 8-week intervention called Youth Engaged Through Intervention (YETI) at a university clinic. One 9-year-old child “Brandon” exhibited disruptive behaviors, which were operationally defined as talking out of turn, using objects to make noise, and using high pitched, loud, or repetitive verbal expressions. An ABA single-subject methodology was used to examine whether adult attention and structured ignoring reduced the number of disruptive behaviors. Two researchers collected data using momentary time sampling to track the occurrence of disruptive behaviors. Momentary time sampling is an interval recording method where an observer looks up at the end of a 30 second interval, to see if the behavior is presented. A 15-minute observation occurred during the beginning, middle, and end of each session. Inter-rater reliability was obtained by comparing notations of behavior and discussing the disagreements between recordings. Results of the single subject intervention suggest that attention and structured ignoring was effective in changing “Brandon’s” behavior.