Jurgens Anneke, Anderson Angelika, Moore Dennis W
a Faculty of Education, Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.
Dev Neurorehabil. 2019 Jul;22(5):338-347. doi: 10.1080/17518423.2018.1503619. Epub 2018 Aug 1.
To conduct a follow-up assessment of the maintenance of communication skills of a 7-year-old child with autism spectrum disorder, 3 years 7 months post PECS training; and investigate the effects of environmental adaptations on the child's PECS and vocal communications. An alternating-treatments design enabled comparison of the effects of two treatment conditions (an environmental adaptation to increase need and opportunities for communication, versus a continuation of baseline procedures) on the child's PECS and vocal communications in the child's home. Baseline data demonstrated decreased levels of PECS and vocal communication at follow-up, compared to post PECS training 3 years 7 months prior. The environmental adaptation had no observable effect on the participant's use of PECS, but vocal manding increased in this condition. These results suggest ongoing need for motivating environments with ample opportunities to practice post PECS training. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
为了对一名患有自闭症谱系障碍的7岁儿童在图片交换沟通系统（PECS）训练3年7个月后沟通技能的维持情况进行随访评估；并调查环境适应性对该儿童PECS和言语沟通的影响。交替治疗设计能够比较两种治疗条件（一种是通过环境适应性调整来增加沟通需求和机会，另一种是延续基线程序）对儿童在家中PECS和言语沟通的影响。基线数据显示，与3年7个月前PECS训练后相比，随访时PECS和言语沟通水平有所下降。环境适应性调整对参与者使用PECS没有明显影响，但在这种情况下言语要求有所增加。这些结果表明，在PECS训练后，持续需要有充足机会练习的激励性环境。文中讨论了研究结果的意义及未来研究的方向。
