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अमूर्त

Interventions to Redirect Behaviors and Improve Learning in Non-Speaking Autistic Individuals: An Exploratory Analysis of the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM)

Ifeoma Okoli*, James N Olson, Blessing Adekanye

The present study replicated and extended a relatively novel therapy for individuals with autism who lack functional speech, called Rapid Prompting Method (RPM). RPM uses rapid continuous prompting to redirect attention from sensory preoccupations to facilitate learning. It is known that many forms of assistive and augmentative communication such as RPM are deemed controversial based on reported lack of empirical evidence validating their effectiveness for improving learning and communication outcomes in non-speaking populations. The present study aims to assess the replicability of the Chen, et al., [1] outcomes and the potential of RPM as a form of support for nonspeaking autistic individuals.

The effects of RPM on attention, response accuracy and repetitive stereotypic behavior, were recorded and analyzed. The participants were 12 minimally verbal autistic individuals aged 8 to 37 years (M=20.08, SD=8.92).

The findings indicated that exposure to RPM increases accurate answers to questions and decreases repetitive behaviors. Although the increase in gaze behavior (indicative of attention) was not statistically significant, accurate answers increased significantly as attention increased. Exposure to the RPM appears to support a decrease in repetitive behaviors and an increase in correct responses to therapist’s requests. RPM may help redirect attention from sensory preoccupations and suppress the effects of Repetitive and Stereotyped Behaviors (RSBs).