Graduation Year
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
Child and Family Studies
Major Professor
Kimberly Crosland, Ph.D
Committee Member
Raymond Miltenberger, Ph.D
Committee Member
Timothy Weil Ph.D
Keywords
Autism, Joint Attention, Percentile Schedule of Reinforcement, Shaping, Sustained Interaction
Abstract
This study examined the use of shaping with a percentile schedule to increase the duration of the interaction following a bid for joint attention in children with autism. Specifically, the therapist initiated a bid for joint attention and reinforced longer successive approximations in seconds of sustained interaction with the therapist and activity. A percentile schedule ranked the most recent 10 observations and reinforcement was provided if the current observation equaled the sixth ranking. Most-to-least prompting was used if the child failed to meet the calculated criterion. Shaping with a percentile schedule of reinforcement was effective at increasing the duration of sustained interaction following a bid for joint attention, for all participants from an average baseline duration of 13 s to an average intervention duration of 215 s.
Scholar Commons Citation
Gutbrod, Therese, "Evaluating the Efficacy of Shaping with a Percentile Schedule to Increase the Duration of Sustained Interaction Following a Bid for Joint Attention in Children with Autism" (2014). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/5231
