Playdates and Children on the Spectrum belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter home routines and caregiver-led implementation. In Playdates and Children on the Spectrum, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer case conceptualization, better instructional targets, and stronger generalization, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Women in Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →Children on the autism spectrum experience difficulties with social interactions, which may result in lower quality of friendships. Playdates are defined as prearranged gatherings between two children at one of their homes and are fundamental to social emotional development in childhood. Playdates provide opportunities for language, empathy, and friendship development as well as practice generalizing social skills across settings. Three papers will be discussed in this presentation. The first paper is a scoping review of the literature on playdates for children with autism (currently under review). Results of 12 studies indicate that playdates may have several positive effects for children with autism, including increased social engagement at school and reciprocal interactions with peers. Secondly, findings from two single-case studies (Raulston et al., 2020, 2021) that evaluated a parent-implement playdate intervention will be presented. Findings from these studies indicated that parent training and coaching in a multi-component intervention resulted in increases in initiations and responses (i.e., mands and non-verbal responses) between children during game play within playdates in home settings. Collateral effects on supported joint engagement were found in the final follow-up study. Behavior analysts are uniquely situated to support children and families to host and participate in successful playdates. Recommendations for clinicians and future directions of research will be discussed.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
Tracy Raulston, PhD, BCBA-D has nearly 20 years of experience working in a variety of capacities, including as an early childhood special education teacher, behavior analyst, clinical supervisor, university faculty, and applied researcher. Dr. Raulston conducts research centered on early interventions to support the social emotional development of children with developmental delay, including those on the autism spectrum. Within this broad framework, three overlapping lines of research emerge: (1) early social skills interventions; (2) family capacity and well-being; and (3) prevention of behavior problems.
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.