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SOME DIRECT AND GENERALIZED EFFECTS OF REPLACING AN AUTISTIC MAN'S ECHOLALIA WITH CORRECT RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS
Author(s) -
McMorrow Martin J.,
Foxx R. M.
Publication year - 1986
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 - 10.1901/jaba.1986.19-289
Subject(s) - psychology , multiple baseline design , autism , stimulus (psychology) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , reinforcement , quiet , social psychology , intervention (counseling) , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics
We extended the use of operant procedures to decrease immediate echolalia and increase the appropriate responding to questions of a 21‐year‐old autistic man. Three experiments were conducted in which the overall plan was to (a) encourage the subject to remain quiet before, during, and after the presentation of questions and (b) teach him to use environmental cues (i.e., word cards or a model's responses) to increase the likelihood of responding correctly. Multiple baseline designs demonstrated that echolalia was rapidly replaced with correct stimulus‐specific responses. In addition, there were a variety of generalized improvements in the subject's verbal responses to questions. The procedures and results are contrasted to previous research in an attempt to explain the encouraging findings.