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TEACHING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM TO SEEK HELP WHEN LOST IN PUBLIC
Author(s) -
Bergstrom Ryan,
Najdowski Adel C.,
Tarbox Jonathan
Publication year - 2012
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.2012.45-191
Subject(s) - autism , praise , psychology , applied behavior analysis , developmental psychology , medical education , social psychology , medicine
Children with autism may not develop safety skills (e.g., help‐seeking behaviors) without explicit teaching. One potentially hazardous situation is when a child with autism becomes separated from caregivers in a retail establishment or other public setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a treatment package (rules, role playing, and praise) delivered in the natural environment for teaching 3 boys with autism to seek assistance from store employees when they became lost. Treatment was effective, and help‐seeking behaviors generalized to untrained stores for all participants.