Developing Active Learner Participation by Children with
Autism: Capturing the Motivational Variables
James W. Partington,
Ph.D., BCBA, Behavior Analysts, Inc.
Two of the major defining characteristics of an autism spectrum
disorder are qualitative impairments in language and in social
interaction. Behavioral teaching strategies have been documented to
be effective in helping children diagnosed with an autism spectrum
disorder to develop many critical skills. There is a considerable
amount of information available regarding a variety of issues
related to the selection of learning objectives and specific
strategies to teach skills. However, parents and professionals
often find it difficult to motivate a child to participate in
learning activities to acquire those skills, to initiate social
interactions, and to spontaneously use the skills in their everyday
activities and interactions.
Some of the most important concerns of those who interact with
these children relate to the motivation to participate in learning
activities and spontaneously use newly acquired skills outside of
specific training sessions. Parents and professionals must address
issues involving the evaluation and development of effective social
reinforcers that will directly impact the motivation of the child
to spontaneously interact with others. Why should a child want to
participate in learning activities, to interact with us, or to tell
us about something important to them? Answers to these questions
are related to the issue of effective reinforcement. There are
multiple sources of reinforcers readily available to children, many
of which do not require their interaction with others, and can
often be obtained with very little effort on the child's part.
This presentation will provide an analysis of motivational
factors that are involved in both structured teaching sessions and
in everyday activities. Methods will be presented to help identify
and capture effective motivational factors that influence the
child's willingness to participation in structured learning
sessions and lead to the child "running to" rather than "running
from" those who are involved in instruction. Techniques for helping
to create motivational conditions that will lead to increased
spontaneous language and other social interactions will be
reviewed. Additionally, methods will be presented to help praise,
smiles and other subtle forms of social feedback from parents and
instructors acquire reinforcing properties.
Dr. Partington is the director of Behavior Analysts, Inc., in
Pleasant Hill, California. He is a licensed psychologist and a
board certified behavior analyst (B.C.B.A.), and has 35 years of
experience working with children with developmental disabilities.
His expertise is in language-based intervention with children who
are experiencing language delays as a result of autism and other
related developmental disorders. Dr. Partington is the co-founder
of a school that specializes in language-based instruction for
children with autism (STARS School) and has helped several public
school systems establish similar classrooms within their own
districts. He has been a faculty member of several universities
including West Virginia University, University of San Francisco and
St. Mary's College. Dr. Partington is a former President of the
Northern California Association for Behavior Analysis and has
served as a member of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Dr.
Partington has received several professional awards including the
Public Service Award for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis in
Florida, presented by the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis
and the Award for Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in
the Mass Media that was presented by the Society for the
Advancement of Behavior Analysis. He has served on the editorial
review boards of the Analysis of Verbal Behavior, Education and
Treatment of Children, Behavioral Interventions, Behavior Analysis
in Practice, and has served as a guest reviewer for the Journal of
Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Partington has published several
papers on teaching strategies for children with disabilities.
Additionally, he has co-authored with Dr. Mark L. Sundberg the
book, Teaching Language to Children with Autism or Other
Developmental Disabilities. He is the author of The
Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (The
ABLLS-R): An assessment, Curriculum Guide, and Skills Tracking
System for Children with Autism or Other Developmental
Disabilities. He has also produced an instructional video,
Teaching Verbal Behavior: An Introduction to Parents Teaching
Language.
BACB/APA CE credits offered for this
event