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| Int'l Symposium - Basic and Applied Research in Derived Relational Responding in Children with Autism |
| Monday, May 31, 2004 |
| 3:00 PM–4:20 PM |
| Independence West |
| Area: VBC/AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Jennifer O'Connor (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) |
| Abstract: . |
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| "Fluent" Performance of Mutual Entailed Relations And First Trial Performance of Combinatorial Entailed Performance |
| JOHN D. MCELWEE (Friends of PA, Philadelphia) |
| Abstract: This pilot study investigated the relationship of "fluent" (accurate + speed) performance of mutual entailed relations (ME) and first trial performance of combinatorial entailed performance (CE). 3 children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder ASD served as participants. They ranged in age from 5 to 6 years and had mild to moderate symptom manifestations. The task was a matching to sample format. The stimuli used were pictures of common nouns (A), printed words of the nouns (B) and synonmn printed words of the nouns (C) e.g. picture of a dog, DOG and CANINE. There were a total of 4 nouns. Participants were trained in a frame of coordination between A - B and B - C. Participants were required to achieve 100% accuracy and "fluent" performance. They were tested on the derived C - A and A - C performance with special attention to first trial scores. The results supported the position of a relationship between rate of ME performance and first trial CE performance. The limitations and potential implications for remediation language problems will conclude the paper. |
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| The Role of Multiple-Exemplar Training in Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Responding in Young Children with Autism |
| JENNIFER O'CONNOR (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) |
| Abstract: This study investigated the role of multiple exemplar training on symmetrical and asymmetrical responding. Twelve children aged between 6 and 9 years participated in the study and were evenly divided into two groups; group 1 were diagnosed with autism; group 2 were typically developing. The participants were exposed to explicit name training and then trained to respond in accordance with symmetry or asymmetry in the presence of two cues. That is in the presence of cue 1 respond; B1-A1, B2-A2; cue 2 respond; B1-A2, B2-A1. A test followed to ensure these relations were trained. Participants were exposed to a match to sample task without contextual cues across new stimuli. A test for symmetrical and asymmetrical responding in the presence of the two contextual cues followed. Results showed that the typically developing children demonstrated generalised control of contextual cues over responding immediately. One participant from group 1 showed similar results to the typically developing children. Multiple exemplar training was employed across the remaining participants of group 1. The results from the implementation of this procedure demonstrated that participants within group 1 generalised control of contextual cues over symmetrical and asymmetrical responding on new tasks. |
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| Establishing Relational Responding in Accordance with More-than and Less-than and Transitive Relations in Young Children Diagnosed with Autism |
| MARIE GORHAM (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Yvonne Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) |
| Abstract: The current study attempted to generate repertoires of relational responding, as generalized operant behaviors, when they were found to be absent in young children diagnosed with autism, using interventions suggested by Relational Frame Theory. Three autistic children, aged between 4 and 6 years old, were exposed to a basic problem-solving task that involved presenting four identically-sized paper coins in an attempt to test and train patterns of relational responding, including responding to transitive relations, in accordance with more-than and less-than. On each trial, the experimenter described how the coins compared to one another in terms of their value, and the child was then asked to pick the coin that would buy as many sweets as possible. All three subjects failed to pass baseline tests for specific patterns of arbitrary more-less responding. Interventions suggested by Relational Frame Theory, including training and testing across stimulus sets, were then used to establish increasingly complex patterns of relational responding in all three children. These findings lend positive support to Relational Frame Theory's approach to derived relational responding, and its possible contribution to programs of early behavioural intervention. |
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| Derived Relational Responding in Children With Autism |
| TIMOTHY M. WEIL (University of Nevada, Reno), Patrick M. Ghezzi (University of Nevada, Reno), Steven C. Hayes (University of Nevada, Reno) |
| Abstract: An important aspect of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is the notion that deriving stimulus relations is learned behavior and as such is flexible, can be shaped, and is controlled by its antecedents and consequences. The literature to date on Relational Frame Theory supports these ideas, but most of the studies have involved verbally-able subjects. It is only now that the experimental analysis of relational framing with developmentally disabled individuals is being pursued. If training relational responding is effective in this population, establishment of simpler relational frames, should permit more complex derived relational responding to occur. This study involves training arbitrarily applicable relations to children diagnosed with autism and then mapping subsequent derived relations, based on a replication of Steele & Hayes (1991). Data will be discussed with respect to the particular relationships involved, the number of trials to acquisition for each relation, format of training trials and finally, the results of probe trials (test trials) for derived responding of untrained relations. The relevance of RFT for understanding the problems of autism will be considered. |
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