Self-stimulation and task-related responding: the role of sensory reinforcement in maintaining and extending treatment effects

The association between punishment and cooperation in children with high-functioning autism

This study examined judgment about punishment and whether punishment promoted cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typically developing (TD) children. In total, 66 6- to 12-year-olds participated in this study. Children were first asked about judgments regarding rewards and punishment in stories, and then they were asked to play the PDG with a partner in conditions with and without punishment. Results showed that children with HFA believed that hitting others should deserve punishment to a greater extent than TD children did. It indicated that children with HFA understood that bad acts should be punished, suggesting that these children have already acquired the general concept of "punishment." Children displayed higher levels of cooperation in the condition with punishment than in the condition without punishment in the PDG, suggesting that punishment promoted cooperation in the PDG in both children with HFA and TD children.

Effects of gross motor activities on the severe self-injurious tantrums of multihandicapped individuals

The present study assessed the effects of gross motor activities on the self-injurious tantrums of three multihandicapped subjects. The tantrums did not seem related to specific environmental events and were rather infrequent, yet very severe. The study was carried out according to a withdrawal (ABAB) design. During baseline, the subjects executed routine activities that required minimal physical effort. During treatment, they performed gross motor activities that required considerable physical effort. These activities were designed to provide a wide variety of sensory (e.g., tactile, proprioceptive) input, but without tiring the subjects excessively. They were implemented when the subjects were in a quiet state. The results showed that concomitant with treatment, all subjects had a definite decline in the rate of self-injurious tantrums. Two subjects also exhibited a reduction in the duration of the tantrums.