Increasing response variability in children with autism spectrum disorder using lag schedules of reinforcement

Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present with deficits in variability in responding across multiple repertoires. However, research to date has resulted in little empirical evaluation of remediation strategies for such deficits. We investigated the effects of lag schedules of reinforcement on response variability using a computer-based task designed for the purpose of the study. The U-value statistic was used as a measure of variability in responding to determine if increasing the lag criterion would correspondingly increase levels of variability. Participants included children with ASD (Group 1) and neurotypical children (Group 2). Results showed that U-values were higher when reinforcement was contingent on increased variability, indicating the effectiveness of higher lag values on response variability. A significant difference in response variability between groups provided evidence for the disparity in such responding in children with ASD compared to their neurotypical peers. Group 1 showed consistently lower U-values than Group 2 indicating lower response variability. However, data from this study clearly show that lag schedules of reinforcement may be employed to increase response variability in ASD.