Effects and Applicability of a Mother-Implemented Response Interruption and Redirection With Script Presentation on the Vocal Stereotypy of an Adolescent With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Therapist and Parent Delivery

Abstract

Objectives: Intervention I compared effects of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) alone, script presentation with RIRD (RIRD+script), and script presentation alone on vocal stereotypy (VS) and social vocalization (SV). Intervention II examined this further when the intervention was implemented by the participant’s mother in the home. Design: A-B-C-D-C design (Intervention I), and multiple baseline design across settings (Intervention II). Settings: A university playroom (Intervention I); the livingroom at the participant’s home (Intervention II). Participant: A 13-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interventions: Intervention I=baseline, RIRD alone, RIRD+script, and script alone; Intervention II=baseline, script alone, and RIRD+script. Measures: The frequency of vocal stereotypy and social vocalization was scored for occurrence/nonoccurrence in 10-second intervals. Results: Intervention I demonstrated the effectiveness of RIRD+script in a university playroom. Less vocal stereotypy and more social vocalization were observed in the RIRD+script condition compared to the other conditions. Intervention II: In the home, vocal stereotypy decreased, whereas social vocalization increased during the RIRD+script condition. Conclusions: The RIRD+script condition was more effective than RIRD alone in reducing the vocal stereotypy and increasing the social communication behavior of this adolescent boy with autism spectrum disorder.