| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 370221 | Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders | 2012 | 7 Pages |
Although Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is an effective treatment for many children with autism, there is a substantial individual difference in outcome. This study was designed to investigate whether treatment gains were associated with the number and type of stimuli that function as reinforcers for 21 preschool-aged children with autism. Children with a large repertoire of socially mediated reinforcers benefited more from treatment. Children with many stereotypic behaviors, assumed to be an effect of a larger repertoire of automatic reinforcers, exhibited less benefit from treatment. These two dimensions taken together explained 49.9% of the variation in treatment gains for children after one year of EIBI. Due to the retrospective and indirect design of the study, results are to be interpreted with caution.
► There is a consistent and unexplained variation in outcome for children with autism who are treated with behavioral interventions. ► We investigated the number and type of reinforcers for children as a possible predictor. ► Children who were reinforced by many socially mediated stimuli such as praise, food, music, etc., exhibited larger treatment gains. ► Children who were reinforced by stimuli generated by their own stereotypic behaviors gained less from treatment. ► Future studies could replicate this finding in a truly predictive design, and find ways to increase the repertoire of socially mediated reinforcers for children with autism.
