An evaluation of interrupted and uninterrupted measurement of vocal stereotypy on perceived treatment outcomes.
The type of procedure used to measure a target behavior may directly influence the perceived treatment outcomes. In the present study, we examined the influence of different data-analysis procedures on the outcomes of two commonly used treatments on the vocal stereotypy of 2 children with an autism spectrum disorder. In Study 1, we compared an interrupted and uninterrupted data-analysis procedure to measure vocal stereotypy during the implementation of response interruption and redirection (RIRD). The results showed that the interrupted data-analysis procedure overestimated the effectiveness of RIRD. In Study 2, we examined the influence of different data-analysis procedures on the interpretation of the relative effects of 2 different treatments for vocal stereotypy. Specifically, we compared interrupted and uninterrupted data-analysis procedures during the implementation of RIRD and noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) as a treatment for vocal stereotypy. The results showed that, as in Study 1, the interrupted data-analysis procedure overestimated the effectiveness of RIRD; however, this effect was not apparent with NCR. These findings suggest that different types of data analysis can influence the perceived success of a treatment.
West Virginia University.
Regina A
RA
Carroll
Tiffany
T
Kodak
D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D019956:Stereotypic Movement Disorder / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
automatic reinforcement; data analysis; noncontingent reinforcement; response interruption and redirection; vocal stereotypy