Teaching autistic and severely handicapped children to recruit praise: acquisition and generalization.
A quick self-question pulls adult praise on demand and transfers anywhere.
01Research in Context
What this study did
McClannahan et al. (1990) worked with children who had autism or severe handicaps. The team taught the kids to ask, "How did I do?" after finishing a task.
Adults then gave praise right away. The training happened in both classroom and home settings.
What they found
Every child learned the self-question. They used it in both places and with different adults.
The skill stuck without extra prompts. Praise followed each question, so the kids got quick social rewards.
How this fits with other research
Farmer-Dougan (1994) extends this idea to adults. Instead of children asking adults for praise, housemates prompted each other during daily chores. Both studies show that self-initiated requests bring positive social feedback.
Day-Watkins et al. (2014) also extends the work. They shifted from recruiting praise to recruiting chances to help. Their teens with autism learned to offer help after a package that included video models and prompting.
Honig et al. (1988) is a close predecessor. It compared peer and adult models for teaching language. McClannahan et al. (1990) moved the trigger from adult or peer models to the child’s own words.
Why it matters
You can teach kids to pull in their own reinforcement. A simple script like "How did I do?" costs nothing and travels across settings. Try it during table work, chores, or play. Prompt the question, deliver praise, then fade prompts. Soon the child runs the loop alone and you get a happy client plus easy data.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autistic and severely handicapped children were taught to ask questions (e.g., "How did I do?") and make requests (e.g., "Check it out") to recruit or set the occasion for praise from an adult. Teaching occurred during structured sessions in a community-based group home. Generalization of the children's use of these behaviors was evaluated during other activities in the teaching area, with other staff members in different areas of the home, and at each child's academic classroom. The children learned the behaviors to cue or set the occasion for praise independently and used these behaviors in all of the generalization settings. In the generalizations settings, the children were frequently successful in recruiting praise.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1990 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(90)90006-t