Abstract
Two mentally retarded boys with autism and one mentally retarded girl with Down syndrome were taught to initiate and play a ball game with an adult confederate. The program targeted both nonverbal responses related to the actual execution of the ball game as well as verbal responses for play initiation and providing compliments for the confederate's behavior. Training sessions provided ample practice in all aspects of the game from initiation to termination through use of brief play cycles. Instruction was provided using a combination of physical and verbal prompts as well as reinforcement and time-out. All three children learned the game and by the study's completion executed multiple play cycles each session. The implications of combining play and social skills training in programming for developmentally handicapped children are discussed.
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We greatly appreciate the technical assistance provided by Dr. Perry Prestholdt and Linda Roussel. We also thank Vetta Johnson and Cris Craigie for their production contributions. Finally, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to the families of the children for their cooperation and dedication throughout the course of this project.
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Coe, D., Matson, J., Fee, V. et al. Training nonverbal and verbal play skills to mentally retarded and autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 20, 177–187 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02284717
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02284717