An evaluation of functional analysis methodology for play behaviors in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
Abstract
Deficits in play skills are common among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The importance of play in educational settings provides opportunities to build relationships and social interactions in those contexts. To facilitate play, the environment can be altered to isolate reinforcing variables that specifically increase the occurrence of the target behavior. One method to assess those variables is using a functional analysis. Although commonly used to assess the occurrence of challenging behavior, the current study offers a methodology for identifying environmental conditions that support increased levels of functional play. A multi-element experimental design assessed the environmental contexts which promoted functional play across three young children diagnosed with ASD. Results from this study indicated the potential for using functional analysis as a tool to identify environmental variables that promote increased durations and variability of functional play for all three participants. Additionally, for one participant, a social validity assessment was completed to determine his preferred condition. The most selected condition did not align with the condition that reinforced the most functional play. A review of limitations and future extensions are discussed.
Degree
M.S.
Thesis Department
Rights
OpenAccess.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. Copyright held by author.