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Teaching important relational skills for children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability using freely available (GO-IRAP) software
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Murphy, Carol Barnes-Holmes, Patrick Michael Dermot |
| Copyright Year | 2017 |
| Abstract | The current article is a brief summary of recent research in relational responding with an emphasis on the Ghent Odysseus Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (GO-IRAP) for teaching this important skill to children with diagnosed autism. Relational responding, especially derived (emergent, untaught) relational responding is thought to be related to complex human cognition such as language and other symbolic understanding (e.g., algebra, maths). Research has indicated that fluent and flexible relational responding is correlated with higher scores on standardized ability/ IQ tests, and that even quite complex relational skills may be taught to children with autism using Multiple Exemplar Training (MET) with other behavioural principles such as positive reinforcement. The GO-IRAP is an interactive computerised teaching programme conceptualized by Professor Dermot Barnes-Holmes and colleagues, which has been made freely available to practitioners and parents. This is a teaching tool designed to assess and teach relational responding from basic nonarbitrary/ physically-based relations such as coordination (same-different), comparison (greater-lesser), opposition, temporal (before-after, hierarchy, deictic relations (I-YOU), and arbitrary relations (.50=50%; X=Y) including Derived Relational Responding (DRR; teach A is greater-than B and B is greater-than, test if child derives (untaught) B is smaller than A, C is smaller than A, A is bigger than C). The current article provides some examples of the diverse relations that can be taught, and stimuli and feedback that can be presented; notably, ongoing research with the GO-IRAP may bring further refinements. ABA treatment programmes, in which language and communication have been traditionally targeted as a priority [15]. Noted limitations, however, were that ABA largely failed to target emergent, novel speech utterances, or the generativity that is characteristic of human language [1]. This was thought to be due to the absence of a complete and comprehensive behavioural account of these more complex aspects of human language and cognition. Relational frame theory/ Derived relational responding: A modern behavioural language theory termed Relational Frame Theory [RFT; 1] has expanded the behavioural research agenda into the more complex areas of human language. The theory encompasses phenomena such as generativity, irony, sarcasm, and humour (readers unfamiliar with RFT may find it useful to commence with Torneke’s [16] account, which is readily understood). Of fundamental importance is Derived Relational Responding (DRR), which was documented in early behavioural research investigating the stimulus equivalence phenomenon. The kernel of Stimulus Equivalence (SE) and DRR is that human language entails derived, emergent or untaught responding. For example, if language-able humans are taught that A is same-as (equivalent to) B, they can derive B as equivalent to A without being taught this bi-directional relations. If they then learn B same-as C relations, they can derive A same-as C and C same-as A relations without direct teaching. Sidman’s research [2] showed that when a boy with intellectual Introduction EIBI and Importance of Language/ Communication Behavioural research by Hayes et al. [1], and Sidman [2] has lead to new progressive behavioural teaching applications that aim to integrate relational responding, generativity and other complex aspects of language in Early Behavioural Intensive Intervention (EIBI) for children with autism or intellectual disabilities [3-5,6] Rehfeldt & Root, 2005; [7] Rosales & Rehfeldt, 2007; [8] Kilroe, Murphy, Barnes-Holmes & Barnes-Holmes, 2013 [9] Rehfeldt & Barnes-Holmes, 2009. Practical applications using EIBI to improve educational and intellectual functioning in children with autism commenced mainly with Lovass [10] using positive reinforcement (similar to contingent reward), punishment, prompting, fading, and many other behavioural principles. Beneficial outcomes from these “Applied Behaviour Analysis” (ABA) teaching procedures were that participant children (N=19) showed higher educational achievements and higher IQ scores compared to matched peers who did not undergo ABA/EIBI; further research after an extended time period showed that benefits for participants were maintained over the longterm [11]. More recently, many impartial reports have supported ABA/EIBI as an effective treatment with a supporting evidencebase for remediating skill deficits in children with autism [12]. Skinnerian behavioural principles [13] and his functional account of language [Verbal Behavior] [14] are foundational to successful Review Article Teaching Important Relational Skills for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability Using Freely Available (GO-IRAP) Software Murphy C1* and Barnes-Holmes D2 1Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland 2Department of Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium *Corresponding author: Carol Murphy, Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Maynooth, Ireland Received: June 01, 2017; Accepted: August 21, 2017; Published: August 30, 2017 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 3 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://go-rft.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/murphy-and-barnes-holmes.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
