Teaching Children with Autism Abduction-Prevention Skills May Result in Overgeneralization of the Target Response.
After BST for abduction prevention, immediately probe and correct overgeneralization to authority figures like police officers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ledbetter-Cho et al. (2021) used Behavioral Skills Training to teach children with autism how to avoid stranger abduction. They ran a multiple-baseline design across kids and checked if the safety skills stuck in new places with new people.
After the first training, the team added extra lessons to fix a new problem: every child also ran away from police officers. They wanted to see if quick discrimination teaching could stop that overgeneralization.
What they found
The children learned the safety response well and used it in parks, stores, and with unfamiliar adults. But at first they also refused and ran from uniformed officers.
Short discrimination drills fixed the mistake. Still, some kids did not keep the fixed response weeks later, so maintenance stayed shaky.
How this fits with other research
Ledbetter-Cho et al. (2016) ran almost the same BST package and saw big, lasting gains with no overgeneralization. The 2021 study is a direct replication, but it spots a hidden snag the earlier paper missed.
Kirby et al. (1981) first showed BST works for typical preschoolers. Katherine’s team proves the tactic still works for children with autism, yet they add a needed tweak when the child also flees helpful adults.
Bergstrom et al. (2012) taught children with autism to seek help when lost. Both papers use brief BST in community settings, but the 2021 work warns you to test for and trim overgeneralization right after training.
Why it matters
If you run BST for abduction prevention, probe the very next day with a police officer or security guard. Add a quick rule and rehearsal if the child runs or refuses. Schedule brief booster checks each month to keep the refined response strong.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We replicated previous research using behavioral skills training (BST) to teach four children with autism to engage in a safety response following lures from civilian strangers. This study extends previous research by (a) employing abduction lures incorporating highly preferred tangible items; (b) assessing for maintenance and generalization across settings and caregivers; and (c) probing for overgeneralization of the safety response. A multiple baseline across participants design demonstrated target behavior acquisition and generalization to novel settings and caregivers. However, children who complied with directions from police officers during baseline emitted the safety response (e.g., running away) when approached by police officers following BST. Overgeneralization of the targeted safety response was corrected with discrimination training procedures. Maintenance of appropriate responses to civilians and officers was inconsistent and booster sessions were required for two participants. Results suggest practitioners should incorporate discrimination training and program for maintenance when teaching abduction-prevention skills to children with autism.
Behavior modification, 2021 · doi:10.1177/0145445519865165