Controle restrito de estímulos em autistas: avaliação de um procedimento de Resposta de Observação Diferencial e estímulos com diferenças críticas

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate whether the procedure of Differential Observing Responses (DOR) used in a training with words as stimuli with critical differences could reduce/eliminate the restricted stimulus control in autistic participants. For this, six children diagnosed with autistic disorder underwent tasks of matching-tosample simultaneous (SMTS). Three of them participated in the control group and three in the experimental group. There were used in attempts to SMTS, three sets of words: BO set (good, good, box), PA set (par, peace, father) and ME set (month, my, honey). The attempts with critical differences included stimuli of a same set and the ones with multiple differences had stimuli of the three sets of words. Children in the experimental group were submitted to seven phases: initial evaluation of restricted stimuli control, base line 1, DOR condition, baseline 2, the generalization test, final evaluation of restricted stimulus control and follow-up. Children in the control group were only submitted to the phases of the initial evaluation, base line 1 and base line 2. For two participants in the experimental group, a delineation of multiple base line among participants was used. For the other participant in the experimental group, it was used a procedure of multiple base line among sets. The analysis of the results identified that the answer under restricted stimulus control of the experimental participants was reduced. This result was observed even with the return to the base line (reversal). In addition, it was achieved a high rate of correct answers on the generalization test, in which the stimuli were changed position. Another significant result was achieved in reapplying the test one month after the end of the procedure; the results of the participants remained accurate, indicating generality in time regarding the responding reduction under strict control in tasks of SMTS