The effect of variable-response reinforcement of novel questions on quantity of conversational interactions for children with autism spectrum disorder /by Barbara Ruth Greenberg.

Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often unable to maintain typical conversations or use the information acquired from these conversations to initiate appropriate future interactions with peers. The current study incorporated the use of the empirically validated strategies -- social scripts, peer involvement, and positive reinforcement of variable responses -- into one intervention. The conversation training used within this study specifically utilized positive reinforcement of novel questions and variable responses generated with a peer using a cue card system and a token economy. The number of future interactions with other participants in unstructured social times was also measured. A multiple baseline design was conducted across 4 participants with ASD ages 5 through 10 who were grouped into dyads. Both the intervention and the generalization measures took place in the children???s natural therapy setting. Data from baseline, intervention, and generalization measures indicate that two of the participants showed an increase in number of conversational initiations