Differential Reinforcement Procedures With Children With Autism

Autism is a condition which shows a range of conditions which are determined by various challenges related to nonverbal communication, speech, social skills, and repetitive behavior. Avoidance extinction is an approach which can be used in treating compulsive and ritual behaviors in autism. Ritual and compulsive forms of the repetitive behavior interferes with adaptive activities which result in distressing the autism individuals and their families. A study was conducted involving three individuals, and an avoidance pattern was developed with two participants (Wolff, 2013). Restrictive and repetitive behaviors create an impact on socialization, daily life, learning and causes distress to the patient which worsens their health and the quality of life. The treatment options which exist for the repetitive behavior are limited, and in most cases, only extinction avoidance is applied for treatment.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Avoidance helps to ignore or prevent some future aversive events. Behaviors which are avoidant can be controlled by a set of stimuli and maintenance of done through confirmatory depending on the performance of the behavior. There are various therapies which can be associated with the avoidant treatment and such include therapies such as cognitive and talk-therapy components though they are not recommended for the individuals who have autism. When determining the best approach to be applied, it is necessary to consider other factors with the patient such as the intellectual disability of the patient and the presence or ritual and compulsive behavior which are frequent and nonsocially maintained. The avoidant extinction approach is only effective for the autism individuals who have a distinct pattern since a common behavioral mechanism is developed. A stimulus for a certain activity has to be identified so that avoidant can be implemented. The approach is not operational when the behavior in question is not functionally avoidant (Boudreau, 2015).

There are also other differential reinforcement procedures which can be used with children with autism. They are mostly applicable to the skill acquisition program. The reinforcement arrangements can either be manipulated or changing the quality of the reinforcement. When dealing with autistic children, it is first necessary to study them and establish whether they respond to nondifferential or manipulative reinforcement (Boudreau, 2015). Despite the approach, the clinical settings of the patient have to be considered to avoid using an approach which may result in variations. The interference of the individual interacting with the patient affects the stimuli and overall reaction to the extinction avoidance practice. When the parent, for example, changes the cause of stimuli, it affects the overall reaction of the autistic individual and also interferes with their life. Extinction avoidance can be described as the rigid rules which help reduce the repetitive behavior by creating interference in the schedule of the patient.

Conclusion

Extinction avoidant can be achieved through blocking and extinction procedures, though there is a potential chance of adverse effects taking place. When a procedure has been implemented, the autistic individual may develop another characteristic which may reduce their quality of life. Therefore, it is first necessary to analyze the stimulus which is being avoided and the behavior which may result and affects it will have on the autistic person (Wolff, 2013). The avoidant method should go along with the treatment approach which an individual is using to avoid worse conditions such as autism. The emotional state of the person should also be considered and an effective communication pathway developed for effective treatment.

References

Boudreau, B. A. (2015). A Comparison Of Differential Reinforcement Procedures With Children With Autism. Journal Of Applied Behavior Analysis, 918- 923.

Wolff, J. J. (2013). Brief Report: Avoidance Extinction as Treatment for Compulsive and Ritual Behavior in Autism. J Autism DevDisord, 1741- 1746.