Spear Monica A, Karsten Amanda, White Emily A
1 Western New England University, Springfield, MA, USA.
2 The New England Center for Children, Southborough, MA, USA.
Behav Modif. 2018 Jan;42(1):108-125. doi: 10.1177/0145445516686301. Epub 2017 Jan 10.
Researchers have yet to identify the conditions under which people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate restricted interests; it is possible that the impression of restricted interests is strengthened when a limited variety of items are included in a client's preference assessments. This study will extend past research on preferences of children with autism by (a) examining participants' preferences for unreplenished (familiar) play or leisure items versus items that are replenished frequently, (b) assessing if participants who prefer replenished items select items with properties that are matched or unmatched to their most preferred unreplenished item, and (c) assessing if participants who show an exclusive preference for unreplenished items will select replenished items during response-restriction and enhanced-replenished pool manipulations. Participants were four adolescents with autism and a caregiver-reported history of restricted interests. One participant selected both unreplenished (familiar) items and replenished (novel) items without further manipulations. The remaining three participants only selected replenished-matched leisure items after additional manipulations. Results are discussed in terms of the ethical and practical importance of assessing a range of potential reinforcers, particularly with clients who demonstrate restricted interests.
研究人员尚未确定被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍的人在何种情况下会表现出兴趣受限；当客户的偏好评估中包含的物品种类有限时，兴趣受限的印象可能会增强。本研究将通过以下方式扩展以往关于自闭症儿童偏好的研究：(a) 检查参与者对未补充（熟悉）的游戏或休闲物品与频繁补充的物品的偏好；(b) 评估喜欢补充物品的参与者是否会选择与他们最喜欢的未补充物品属性匹配或不匹配的物品；(c) 评估对未补充物品表现出排他性偏好的参与者在反应限制和增强补充池操作期间是否会选择补充物品。参与者是四名患有自闭症的青少年，且有照顾者报告的兴趣受限病史。一名参与者在没有进一步操作的情况下选择了未补充（熟悉）的物品和补充（新颖）的物品。其余三名参与者在经过额外操作后才只选择了与补充物品匹配的休闲物品。将根据评估一系列潜在强化物的伦理和实际重要性来讨论研究结果，特别是对于表现出兴趣受限的客户。
