Date of Award
8-2008
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Richard W. Malott
Second Advisor
Dr. James Carr
Third Advisor
Dr. Ron VanHouten
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Steve Ragotzy
Abstract
The current study evaluated the effects of two different maintenance-training methods and one control condition on skill maintenance within a public-school classroom for children diagnosed with autism. The two training methods involved the use of either a continuous-reinforcement schedule or a thinned partial-reinforcement schedule during 20 overlearning training sessions following skill acquisition. The control condition did not involve any overlearning following skill acquisition. Three children were each taught two curricular programs, with each program involving the two training methods and the control condition using a multielement design. Overlearning using a thinned partial-reinforcement schedule reliably produced greater maintenance across all participants, while there were no consistent differences between the overlearning training method that involved continuous reinforcement and the control condition.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Weatherly, Nicholas L., "A Comparison of Maintenance-Training Methods for Children Diagnosed with Autism" (2008). Dissertations. 820.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/820
Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Child Psychology Commons, Clinical Psychology Commons