EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF RELATIONAL TRAINING PROCEDURES ON SKILL RETENTION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

The current study evaluated the effects of discrete trial training versus the effects of relational training on the acquisition and retention of skills in four children with autism. Using a multiple baseline design across subjects, participants were trained on the skills sequencing from longest to shortest, discriminating full versus empty versus half empty, tacting “you” versus “I,” and responding to reasons why people cry. One of the four participants acquired and retained the skill. Many factors effected the results for the other three participants. Participant 2 never met mastery criteria with relational training procedures. Participant 3 learned PEAK programming four times faster than DTT, however, when using PEAK with the original target, 10 days were required to score all points opposed to the four days DTT required. Participant 4 displayed similar performance results using DTT and PEAK. Implications and limitations will be discussed