Advisor(s)

William H. Ahearn

Contributor(s)

Jessica Sassi, Susan Langer

Date of Award

2011

Date Accepted

8-2011

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Applied Behavior Analysis

Department or Academic Unit

Bouvé College of Health Sciences. Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology.

Keywords

psychology, behavioral, autism, generalization, matrix training, play skills, video modeling

Subject Categories

Play assessment (Child psychology), Autistic children - Behavior modification

Disciplines

Child Psychology

Abstract

Children with autism often exhibit limited appropriate pretend play skills. Their play skills are often characterized by stereotypical behavior patterns. Because of their importance in a child's development, it is essential to find ways to teach pretend play skills when they are absent. In this study, we attempted to train three boys diagnosed with autism to play with three different play sets using video modeling. In phase I, a tact assessment and training was conducted to increase the participants' familiarity with the materials from the play sets. Tacts were acquired by two out of three participants. In phase II, training was implemented with one play set and generalization to a related play set and an unrelated play set was assessed. A matrix system was used to enhance generalization when recombining materials from all 3 play sets. Additionally, each participants' level of stereotypic behavior was recorded before and after training was implemented. Results showed that the video modeling training resulted in an increase in the appropriate play skills and a decrease in the stereotypic behavior of 1 out of 3 participants. For that participant, matrix training was effective at enhancing generalizations when materials from the 3 play sets were recombined. In phase III, a video modeling pre-requisite assessment was completed for the 2 participants whose levels of appropriate behavior did not increase during video modeling training. One of the 2 participants completed most of the tasks included in the assessment successfully. Implications of these results and areas for future research are also discussed.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Clelia G. Deltour


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