Graduation Year

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Degree Granting Department

Child and Family Studies

Major Professor

Andrew Samaha, Ph.D, BCBA-D

Committee Member

Kwang-Sun Cho Blair, Ph.D, BCBA-D

Committee Member

Jolenea Ferro Ph.D, BCBA-D

Keywords

Audio Social Scripts, Choice, Instructor Preference, Social Skills, Textual Social Scripts

Abstract

Choice has been demonstrated to have positive effects on behavior like increasing task engagement, positive affect, and accuracy in the completion of tasks. However, the effects of choice have been primarily observed with individuals receiving behavior analytic interventions. It is unknown whether the choice of intervention modality would have similar positive effects on the implementer. Social scripts are a social skill intervention that provides a model of appropriate language through the presentation of antecedent stimuli that increase the likelihood of desired behavior in learners. Social script can be delivered in two different modalities, auditory and textual, which facilitate the choice for instructors for this study. The purpose of the study was to (a) evaluate the effects of multiple available intervention modalities on the frequency of implementation, (b) assess instructor preference of two social skill interventions, and (c) to determine the feasibility of those interventions. The results of this study indicate the multiple choices of modalities did not affect the frequency of implementation but did have an effect on instructor preference. Two instructors in this study showed a mixed preference until the choice was available and their preference switched to auditory scripts. Overall, teachers in this study rated the social script intervention highly. There was a 9.2% increase in acceptability from pre- to post-test.

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