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Teaching social play skills to adults and children with autism as an approach to building rapport
Author(s) -
Shireman Molly L.,
Lerman Dorothea C.,
Hillman Conrad B.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.299
Subject(s) - psychology , social skills , autism , autism spectrum disorder , developmental psychology , intellectual disability , vocational education , clinical psychology , psychiatry , pedagogy
Adults with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) and no intellectual disabilities were taught to increase the social play skills of children with ASD as part of a vocational training program. Participants included 3 adults, aged 21 to 27 years, and 6 children with ASD . Probes conducted throughout the study evaluated whether play skills training affected a measure of rapport between the adult and child. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training for teaching the adult participants the appropriate play skills. In addition, the children's social engagement increased. Finally, rapport probes showed that play skills training increased levels of proximity, our measure of rapport, between the adults and children.