RESUMO
Students with autism have difficulty initiating social interactions and may exhibit repetitive motor behavior (e.g., body rocking, hand flapping). Increasing social interaction by teaching new skills may lead to reductions in problem behavior, such as motor stereotypies. Additionally, self-monitoring strategies can increase the maintenance of skills. A multiple baseline design was used to examine whether multi-component social skills intervention (including peer training, social initiation instruction, and self-monitoring) led to a decrease in repetitive motor behavior. Social initiations for all participants increased when taught to initiate, and social interactions continued when self-monitoring was introduced. Additionally, participants' repetitive motor behavior was reduced. Changes in social behavior and in repetitive motor behavior maintained more than one month after the intervention ended.
Assuntos
Transtorno Autístico/terapia , Terapia Comportamental , Grupo Associado , Comportamento Social , Comportamento Estereotipado , Atenção , Transtorno Autístico/diagnóstico , Transtorno Autístico/psicologia , Conscientização , Criança , Humanos , Inclusão Escolar , Masculino , Autocuidado/psicologiaRESUMO
The factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) algorithm items were examined in a sample of 226 youngsters with pervasive developmental disabilities. Exploratory factor analyses indicated a three-factor solution closely resembling the original algorithm and explaining 38% of the variance, with one significant discrepancy: Unlike the algorithm, all nonverbal communication items were associated with the Social factor. Internal consistencies of domain scores ranged from .54 to .84. Correlations between ADI-R domain and total scores and instruments assessing adaptive behavior, psychopathology, and autism were examined. They indicated some similarities between constructs, but also that the ADI-R measures autism in a unique fashion.