Increasing play and decreasing the challenging behavior of children with autism during recess with activity schedules and task correspondence training

Abstract

We examined the effects of a teacher implemented playground intervention consisting of activity schedules and task correspondence training on the challenging behaviors and play of three school age children with moderate to severe autism. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the intervention effects. Results indicated that each of the participants learned to use an activity schedule to follow a schedule of play activities and demonstrated improved play. Moreover, challenging behavior decreased for two participants during the intervention and remained at low levels for the third participant. The findings from this study provide support for the use of activity schedules and task correspondence training to reinforce appropriate play and decrease challenging behaviors during recess.