Watch Me Try: ACT for Improving Athletic Performance of Young Adults with ASD

Abstract

Few studies have examined the effects of contextual behavior science interventions for adult athletes with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Those few, reviewed herein, show preliminary empirical support for treating behavioral deficits exhibited by young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder engaged in competitive sports. In the current study, we evaluated a novel iteration of Acceptance and Commitment Training called Watch Me Try and compared it with direct contingency management to facilitate athletic performance of young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A concurrent multiple baseline across participants design was used to measure changes in tardy arrivals to practice, heart rate, and fall lengths during practice climbs. Direct contingency management strategies included task analysis, modeling, prompting, stimulus control shaping, differential reinforcement, self-monitoring, goal setting, and performance feedback. The Watch Me Try intervention included three modules designed to incorporate all six repertoires that comprise the psychological flexibility model upon which ACT is based. All three athletes increased their attendance, heart rate, and length of falls during training to simulate desired performance during competitions and subsequently, their competition performances improved. One improved with direct contingency management alone; the other two required the Watch Me Try approach to bolster their performance. Results bolster the literature that supports Acceptance and Commitment Training as a treatment modality that supplements behavioral programs with the aim of improving socially significant behavior that can be observed and measured in applied contexts.