Identifying effective components of ABA programs used in the education of individuals with autism spectrum disorder: the role of error-correction procedures in the rate of skill acquisition

Abstract

The research in this thesis focused on an investigation into the efficacy of four error-correction procedures used in the education of individuals with a diagnosis of ASD. Chapter 1 of this thesis begins with an overview of current literature related to the use of error-correction procedures as part of discrete trial teaching. Study 1 (Chapter 2) aimed to examine the different error-correction procedures in use within schools across Ireland. The results gained supported the hypothesis that there was significant diversity in the error-correction procedures used within and across schools. In Study 2; Phase 1 (Chapter 3) information with regards to the participant ability was gathered. This was with a view to isolate the effective components and processes operating within different error-correction procedures and to discover the most effective application of these procedures on an individualised level in subsequent studies. In Study 2; Phase 2, error-correction procedures were implemented with children with ASD (n=31) across four conditions). Results demonstrated statistically significant differences in the rate of skill acquisition with particular error-correction procedures dependent on learner ability. Study 3 (Chapter 4) replicated the research carried out in Study 2 with adult learners with ASD (n=10), with similar findings. Participants’ preference for error-correction procedures were also formally assessed in Chapter 4 using a modified concurrent-chains procedure (Hanley et al., 1997). Results showed that the majority of participants showed preference for the error-correction procedures which maximised their rate of skill acquisition. The findings of the studies are discussed in Chapter 5 in relation to the current literature and importance of matching error-correction procedures to individual learners’ needs and abilities. From this, an assessment procedure was designed with which professionals can determine the most effective error-correction procedure to implement prior to program design. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

Date of Award	Aug 2016
Original language	English
Supervisor	Claire McDowell (Supervisor) & Julian Leslie (Supervisor)