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| Promoting Perspective-Taking Through Deictic Relational Training in Children With Autism |
| Sunday, May 29, 2022 |
| 11:00 AM–11:50 AM |
| Meeting Level 2; Room 254A |
| Area: AUT/VBC; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Claire Zuch (Missouri State University) |
| Discussant: Caleb Stanley (Utah Valley University) |
| CE Instructor: Caleb Stanley, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Perspective taking and theory of mind deficits are part of the symptomatic representation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related disabilities. Relational Frame Theory (RFT, Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001) offers a contemporary model of simple and complex language and cognitive learning that could have immediate implications for work with children with ASD. Deictic relational responding is a relational framing process that is most closely linked to perspective taking and theory of mind where people learn to respond to contextual cues of ‘I and You,’ ‘Here and There,’ and ‘Now and Then.’ Research with ASD samples has established that these relational framing patterns in singular (e.g., I versus you), reversed (e.g., If I were you and you were me), and combined forms (e.g., I-here-now versus I-there-then, perspective of self across time) are impacted even when intelligence test scores are in the normative range. This symposium will provide an overview of clinical research showing that relational training can establish deictic relational framing patterns with implications for teaching skills necessary for perspective taking and theory of mind. The first speaker will demonstrate the acquisition of I-You relations in young children with ASD. The second speaker will demonstrate the acquisition of multiple deictic relations within a single-case experimental design across deictic skills. Finally, the discussant will provide a topical overview of this work along with implications for our field and how we approach training if complex human behavior in ABA therapeutic and educational applications. |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| Keyword(s): Autism, Perspective taking, Relational framing, ToM |
| Target Audience: Behavior analysts, students, and faculty |
| Learning Objectives: (1) describe the role of deictic relating in perspective taking; (2) discuss the PEAK relational training system; (3) describe deictic relating within the broader experience of empathy |
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| Establishing Perspective-Taking Skills in Young Children with Autism Using the PEAK-T Curriculum Simple “I-You” Relations |
| XIAOHAN CHEN (Emergent Learning Clinic), Autumn N. McKeel (Emergent Learning Clinic) |
| Abstract: Perspective-taking skills are critical for successful social interactions and children with autism often have difficulties in this area. Due to the lack of understanding of other’s perspective, they may struggle with emphasizing with other people and separating appearance from reality. The purpose of this study is to teach beginning perspective-taking skills to young children with autism by using the PEAK-T curriculum simple “I-You” frames. Three participants aged between 4 and 6 are included. A multiple baseline design is used to evaluate their improvement on simple “I-You” relations. Preliminary data show that all of the participants had no perspective-taking skills in baseline and when introduced to intervention, they demonstrated a significant increase in scores. Furthermore, pre- and post-PCA (PEAK Comprehensive Assessment) are conducted as an extra measure of their gains on the perspective-taking skills. Implications of the findings and future research will be discussed. |
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