Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Degree Granting Department
Child and Family Studies
Major Professor
Raymond Miltenberger, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Committee Member
Heather Zerger, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Committee Member
Anthony Concepcion, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Keywords
behavioral skills training, dance, salsa dancing, sports
Abstract
Research has demonstrated behavioral skills training (BST) to be an effective teaching procedure for acquisition of a variety of skills among both neurotypical and neurodiverse individuals across different ages. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of BST for enhancing sports performance when training neurotypical children and adults. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of BST for enhancing sports performance, and specifically dance performance, among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual disabilities (ID). Dance is a recreational activity that can serve as a form of physical activity for children and adults. Salsa is a Latin style of music and dance with mix origins of Caribbean and Spanish Harlem that provides benefits to health and fitness. For individuals with ASD and/or ID, dance may need to be taught systematically using a procedure such as BST. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of BST for teaching salsa dance skills to adults with ASD and/or ID using a multiple baseline across participant’s design. The study included six participants with autism or developmental disabilities. The results showed that BST produced an immediate improvement in the percentage of steps performed correctly of the salsa skills and maintained during follow up.
Scholar Commons Citation
Nieves, Joshua I., "Evaluating Behavioral Skills Training to Teach Salsa Dancing Skills to Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Intellectual Disabilities" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10891
