Increasing medical adherence for individuals with autism

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2018

First Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen

Second Committee Member

Sassi, Jessica

Third Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel

Abstract

"Medical procedures such as routine physicals and blood draws are often associated with problem behavior in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Previous research has shown the utility of behavior analytic interventions for increasing medical adherence. However, these interventions often include extinction, which may not be feasible or safe to implement during medical exams. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differential reinforcement without extinction alone and in combination with fading for increasing adherence and decreasing disruption during routine medical exams in four individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. An indirect assessment was conducted to identify medical exam procedures. A functional analysis confirmed that disruption was maintained by escape from medical demands. We evaluated differential reinforcement alone and in combination with stimulus fading using multiple baseline across participants or reversal designs. Differential reinforcement with fading was necessary for achieving clinically significant outcomes in three of the four participants."

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