Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Degree Granting Department

Child and Family Studies

Major Professor

Kwang-Sun Cho Blair, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Committee Member

Kimberly Crosland, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Committee Member

Raymond Miltenberger, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Keywords

ASD, behavioral skills training, self-monitoring, social skills

Abstract

One of the major skill deficits found in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lack of social skills. These socials skills range from having conversations, interpreting nonverbal behavior, understanding emotions, and understanding the perspective of others. Behavior skills training (BST) and self-monitoring have generally been shown to be effective in improving social skills for individuals with ASD. However, there is limited research that used BST with self-monitoring as an intervention package to improve social skills, particularly communication skills of adolescents with ASD in the school setting. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to extend the current literature by further evaluating using BST combined with self-monitoring to address conversation skills of adolescents with ASD in the school setting. Three high school students with ASD in grades 9-12 participated in the study. A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants with an ABC sequence (i.e., baseline, BST with self-monitoring, and self-monitoring) was used to evaluate the intervention outcomes. The results demonstrated that BST with self-monitoring was effective in teaching conversation skills to adolescents with ASD and that removal of BST, using self-monitoring alone sustained intervention effects. The results show that self-monitoring alone could promote maintenance and generalization of taught conversation skills.

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