ABSTRACT

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display problem behaviors such as crying, screaming, or aggression to avoid specific stimuli or situations. These behaviors can significantly disrupt instructional activities and hinder the child’s developmental and educational progress, emphasizing the continued need for effective intervention strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Differential Positive Reinforcement without Extinction on task-avoidance behavior and task performance in a child with ASD. A single-case experimental design using a multiple-probe design across behaviors was employed with one elementary student diagnosed with ASD to analyze the functional relationship between the intervention and target behaviors. The research procedure included participant selection and preliminary data collection, reinforcer preference assessment, functional behavior assessment, baseline measurement, intervention implementation, and maintenance phases. The results revealed no clear functional effect of the intervention on task performance. However, task-avoidance behaviors significantly decreased during both the intervention and maintenance phases compared to the baseline. These findings suggest that DRnoE can be effective in reducing avoidance behavior in children with ASD, and implications for its practical application in educational settings are discussed.

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