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Parents as play date interventionists for children with autism spectrum disorders

University of British Columbia

Teaching children with autism to interact with their typically developing peers can be a challenge. Previous research has documented that there are many effective ways to teach social interaction; however, these interventions were implemented almost exclusively by trained professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of parent-implemented contextually supported play dates. Specifically, two parents were taught to use mutual reinforcement and to design cooperative arrangements to help their child with autism to interact with a typical peer in their homes. Two independent reversal designs were used to demonstrate a functional relationship between parent-supported contextually supported play dates and an increase in synchronous reciprocal interactions for both participants. Social validity was also high for both parents; however, there was no consistent impact on participant, confederate, or parent affect. The results are discussed with reference to previous research, future directions, and implications for practice.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2008-04-03

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/637

Special Education

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/