Research Review: Physical exercise as a Reinforcer

Research Review by Michelle Rodgers (CUNY Queens College)

Azrin, N.H., Ehle, C.T., & Beaumont, A.L. (2006). Physical exercise as a reinforcer to promote calmness of an ADHD child. Behavior Modification, 30, 564-570.

Authors: Azrin, N.H., Ehle, C.T., &Beaumont, A.L.

Title: Physical exercise as a reinforcer to promote calmness of an ADHD child

Purpose of this study: This study had several purposes. One purpose was to determine if scheduled exercise could serve as a reinforcer for a child remaining calm for a certain period of time. Next, the authors wanted to determine if the exercise would result in calmness even if it wasn’t based on being a contingent reinforcer, if specific praise could result in calmness, or whether contingency was necessary to promote calmness.

Participants: The subject was a 4 year old boy that was diagnosed with autism and ADHD.

Settings: During baseline, the child was observed in his classroom setting. During the procedural component, the child was observed in a separate roomTarget behaviors: Calmness was the target behavior and was defined as sitting calmly and attentively and looking at the assistant.

Procedure: The procedure had several components. These procedures were given on separate days and alternated over the course of 5 days. The reinforcer would be 1 minute of play in an outside playground that contained gymnastic equipment and other climbing structures. The child would engage in activity for the full time and would not be prompted.

Shaping was the first component and the purpose was to attempt for the child to display calmness according to the definition. The time for the child to sit calmly increased from 1 second and after several trials eventually reached 60 seconds. Specific verbal praise was given throughout the session as well as after each successful session. After each successful session, the child was allowed to play.

The descriptive praise was the component in which only specific praise was given for the target behavior and the playground was not used as a reinforcer.

The noncontingent reinforcement phase allowed the child to use the playground every 60 seconds regardless of calmness and no praise was given.

The reconditioning phase allowed the child 60 seconds of playground activity contingent on 60 seconds of calm behavior. Descriptive praise was included at the end of each successful session.

The baseline component was the phase in which the playground was not given as a reinforcer and no descriptive praise was given. The child was seated in the chair and was returned to it when he arose from it.

Results: Prior to the intervention, the child was out of his seat for 100% of the time. The shaping and reconditioning phases had the most dramatic results. In these two phases the child was able to display 60 seconds of attentiveness which lasted for 50 minutes of the session. Descriptive praise, noncontingent play, and the baseline phase resulted in about 3 to 5 seconds of calm behavior.

Implications: Although this study was conducted on only one boy, it is interesting to see that vigorous activity served as a potent reinforcer. For children with ADHD, engaging in exercise at scheduled times may allow for more attentive behavior in the classroom. While the teachers noted how calm the boy was during the intervention, he was in a separate room. It would be interesting to see how attentive he would be in the classroom if he was able to “work” towards use of the playground as a reinforcer. This study offers another possible reinforcer that could be paired with the usual token economy that is often implemented in the classroom. A feasible schedule would need to be worked out to obtain maximum attentiveness in the classroom, while appropriately allowing for playground activity time.

Research Review: Scripted peer tutoring, social interaction and ASD

A research review by Jennifer Morrison, CUNY Queens College.

Petursodittir, A. L., McComas, J., & McMaster, K. (2007). The effects of scripted peer tutoring and programming common stimuli on social interactions of a student with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Applied Behavior analysis, 40, 353 – 357.

Purpose of the study: To explore the effects of scripted peer tutoring in reading activities, with and without programmed common play-related stimuli, on social interactions between a young student with ASD and his typically developing peers during free play situations.

Participants: A 5 yr old boy diagnosed with autism and a developmental delay. The study also included three typically developing peers from his kindergarten classroom that had no history of playing with him.

Setting: General education classroom in a kindergarten room.

Target Behaviors: The overall target behavior was to increase reading fluency by using peer influences. The reading behaviors that were included were: identifying letter sounds, decoding, reading sight words, and reading sentences.

Procedure: The boy diagnosed on the autism spectrum worked with each target peer for the reading activities for 15 minute peer tutoring sessions, four times per week, for 4 to 5 consecutive weeks. After this the participants could choose a 20 minute free play activity. The teachers that were present guided the children to play together in the same area but were also free to leave that area if they chose to do so. There were no explicit prompts or reinforcement for social interaction during any condition.

The design was a multiple baseline across peers with changing conditions, consisting of the following conditions: baseline, scripted peer tutoring, and scripted peer tutoring with common stimuli. During baseline sessions, he was given 20 min free play periods immediately following reading sessions. Scripted peer tutoring involved the same conditions as baseline, but was paired with a targeted peer. During the scripted peer tutoring with common stimuli condition, after the reading session, the play related stimuli were programmed into the reading activity itself. After the reading activity was over, the children were given other parts of the toy and encouraged to keep playing with it.

Results: The results indicated that when only peer scripted tutoring was implemented that there was no change in social interaction. However, once the peer tutoring and common stimuli condition was introduced, social interactions increased. Interestingly, when generalization probes were conducted before the common stimuli intervention, they did not see any generalization of social interaction. This could be because verbal interactions during the reading conditions were under tight stimulus control, and once common stimuli and peer tutoring were combined, generalization did occur.

Implications: This study has several important points that should be discussed. First and foremost, the importance of peer tutoring in academic situations with children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. This is something that all therapists need to keep in mind is the importance and usefulness of a typical peer model for any child with autism. A peer model not only serves as an appropriate model for academic behaviors but also appropriate behaviors in general. Instead of using adults constantly to teach children on the spectrum, we should seek out appropriate peer models that can also sit with the child and teach them various academic tasks, not to only teach them, but also to develop some type of social relationship with that given child since it is so important in building friendships, etc.

Another important point to touch on from this article is the importance of training common stimuli to promote generalization. This was first discussed in Baer, Stokes, and Risely (1968) of the importance of programming these common stimuli in the environment to promote generalization. If a child on the autism spectrum is never exposed to these common stimuli the chances of the generalization to happen in a new novel situation is slim to none. This study shows this point beautifully because there is no change in social interaction, and as soon as common stimuli are introduced the experimenter saw increases in social interaction across all three typical children. Generalization might quite possibly be one of the most important aspects in teaching children with autism academic and social skills, and if generalization is not programmed into the training program, it is much less likely to happen.

Queens College Conference: Positive Behavior Supports and Autism

Queens College Center on Autism and
Related Disabilities
QC-CARD

1st ANNUAL CONFERENCE

CREATING PBS CONTEXTS AT SCHOOL AND HOME
FOR CHILDREN ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM



MAY 3, 2008
9:30 – 1:00


KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Dr. Edward Carr
Leading Professor
Stony Brook University

“Repairing and Enhancing Quality of Life: Achievable and Hopeful”



Breakout sessions:


1. Thinking in PBS: Approaching Problem Behavior Through the Lens of PBS
Presenter: Christopher Oliva, Ph.D.
This training will focus on understanding and addressing problem behavior of children with autism in educational settings from the perspective of positive behavior support. General PBS strategies, as well as formal assessment based strategies, will be explored. Case examples will be used to demonstrate effective interventions.

2. Guidelines for a PBS Classroom: Lessons from the Field
Presenter: Angela Mouzakitis, MsEd, BCBA

The purpose of this workshop is to share classroom guidelines identified as necessary to create a "positive behavior supports" classroom. These guidelines have been identified through hands-on work, observation and consultation with classrooms that serve children with autism. Goals of the workshop are to provide guidelines for a PBS classroom, discuss and provide examples of the guidelines in action, and to provide professionals with a system for managing and monitoring guidelines, providing feedback to teacher, in order to improve classroom practice.


3. Parent Strategies for Supporting Language and Positive Behavior in Daily Family Routines
Presenter: Peishi Wang, Ph.D., BCBA
This session will explore a variety of parent-implemented interventions appropriate in natural environments with young children with ASD. Focus will be on teaching communication skills and increasing participation in family activities.


4. Friendships and Beyond: Developing Social Skills in Students with ASD
Presenter: Nicole Weidenbaum, MsEd., SAS
Success within home, school, and community settings, weighs heavily on the development of social skills. This presentation will focus on the social skills needed for students to be successful in an inclusive school setting, as well as teaching techniques that are applicable across a broad range of skill levels and settings.


5. Make It Fun and I’ll Show Up: Moving towards naturally occurring reinforcement
Presenter: Randy Horowitz, MsEd, SAS

This presentation will describe ways in which parents and teachers can establish (and maintain) themselves as reinforcing stimuli in the education of individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The use of antecedent based strategies to prevent problem behavior will be described in the context of designing effective behavior support plans.


6. “We’re all working really hard – but these PBS strategies are not working!”
Presenter: Sara Woolf, M.A

Does this sound too familiar? If so, come to this session to learn about team process strategies and skills that have been identified as critical in establishing successful home-school partnerships -- and developing lasting PBS outcomes. The session will focus on ways to apply “team best practices” as discussed by select school-family teams and in current literature from the fields of Special Education, Educational Leadership, and PBS/ABA.




Contact Me for Details.

The Effects of Calisthenics and Relaxation Training on Self-Stimulatory behavior: A research review

A research review by Michelle Rodgers (CUNY Queens College)

Authors: Morrissey, P.A., Franzini L.R. & Karen R.L.

Title: The Salutary Effects of Light Calisthenics and relaxation training on self-stimulation in the developmentally disabled

Citation: Morrissey, P.A., Franzini, L.R. & Karen R.L. (1992). The salutary effects of light calisthenics and relaxation training on self-stimulation in the developmentally disabled. Behavioral Residential Treatment ,7, 373-389.

Purpose of this study: The purpose of this study was to determine if light calisthenics and relaxation could decrease self-stimulatory behavior. Light calisthenics was defined as 15 minutes of exercise, such as running, and bending to touch toes from various positions, such as standing and sitting.

In addition to decreasing self-stimulatory behavior, the authors also wanted to determine if light calisthenics and relaxation could also improve attention to toy tasks.
Relaxation and calisthenics were possible replacements for self-stimulatory behaviors because they were believed to provide the same type of proprioceptive feedback the inappropriate behaviors were creating.

Participants: The participants were four males ranging in age from 8-13. These males were diagnosed with the following developmental disabilities:
chromosomal abnormality with microcephaly, spastic quadriplegia with seizure disorder, chromosomal abnormality and fetal alcohol syndrome and the final subject was diagnosed with autism.

Settings: The treatment took place in a basement room located within the residential facility.

Target behaviors: The target behaviors were an increase in attending-to-tasks, through toy play, and a decrease in self-stimulatory behaviors such as hand flapping, hand mouthing, and other self-abusive behaviors such as hitting head with knuckles and body slamming.

Procedure: After a baseline of these behaviors were recorded over 5 days, treatment began. During treatment, the participants were engaged in light calisthenics as mentioned above. During the relaxation interval, they were asked to tense and relax various parts of their bodies, such as their legs, then arms, and then their hands. Free time was considered the control condition and the residents could play with various toys that were present during attention-to-task activities. The treatment sessions and control condition lasted fro 15 minutes each. After the treatment sessions, data were collected for 10 minute intervals and directly followed treatment. During this interval, the subjects were asked to play with the toys in order to measure their time on task.

Results: The light calisthenics decreased self-stimulatory behavior in all four subjects while relaxation had an effect on three of the subjects. Four subjects showed an increase in task attending after the calisthenics and only three of the boys exhibited on-task behaviors after relaxation. The only downfall to these techniques was that the effects were short-lived. The behaviors decreased immediately after the treatment sessions but had increased again later in the day.

Implications: Light calisthenics and relaxation may be good techniques to employ prior to a learning session or activity to have the most dramatic effect in increased attention and decreased self-stimulatory behaviors. The authors had mentioned that if the exercise had been directly related to each subject’s self-stimulatory behavior, the replacement exercise may have been effective and long-lasting. However, in this study, each subject, regardless of their self-stimulatory behaviors, received the same treatment. It was also noted that the effects of treatment weren’t realized until a few days after treatment. It is believed this was due to the time involved in learning some of these exercises. It was not until the subjects were more fluent with the exercises that the effects were noticed. This was speculated to be related to the amount of proprioceptive feedback that would be gained with proper exercise formation. The authors also made mention of the fact that the relaxation techniques were more laborious on the staff members because they had to help these subjects get into various positions, whereas the calisthenics were more easily implemented and feasible for a larger group.