Effects of matrix training within activity schedules on thematic play skill for children with autism spectrum disorder
Abstract
Photographic activity schedules have been demonstrated to teach functional and social play to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Matrix training is an instructional format that teaches a subset of targets, additional targets in the matrix are then acquired without direct teaching. Dauphine et al. (2004) has demonstrated that matrix training delivered within an activity schedules format was effective at increasing schedule following behavior and promoted recombinative generalization of sociodramatic play skills. The present study extends previous literature by assessing the effects of matrix training within activity schedules on thematic play skills for two children with ASD. Researchers used an alternating treatment design embedded in a concurrent multiple baseline design to assess the percentage of correct schedule following, engagement, and frequency of varied play. Researchers found that the use of matrix training embedded in an activity schedule was effective for teaching thematic play skills as well as promoting recombinative generalization in all participants.
Degree
M.S.