The Use of an Antecedent-Based Intervention to Decrease Stereotypic Behavior in a General Education Classroom

Abstract

The incidence of children identified as having autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is increasing (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, 2003). Many of these children are enrolled in general education settings, posing an ever-groWing challenge for the teachers in those settings. There is a critical need to develop interventions for students With ASD that can be used in general education classrooms. The current case study addressed this issue by implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of an antecedent-based intervention on the stereotypic behavior of a student With ASD Who Was fully included in a kindergarten classroom. FolloWing a functional analysis indicating that the stereotypic behavior Was maintained by automatic reinforcement, an antecedent intervention Was designed that included the use of visual cues to indicate activity times When it Was acceptable and When it Was not acceptable for the student to engage in stereotypic behavior. Effectiveness of the intervention Was examined using an alternating treatment design (BarloW & Hayes, 1979). FolloWing implementation of the intervention, the student's stereotypic behavior decreased during the times indicated by the visual cue that it Was unacceptable to engage in stereotypy. A replication Was conducted transferring the implementation of the intervention to the teacher's assistant in the classroom.