Training Children with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders to Comply with Healthcare Procedures: Theory and Research

Abstract

(from the chapter) This chapter discusses research related to training children who have autism to comply with the requirements of routine healthcare procedures. Considering the number of scheduled routine medical and dental exams recommended for all children, the additional unplanned healthcare procedures that might arise, the greater prevalence of certain disorders, and the larger number of medical visits for children with autism, there are numerous opportunities for these children to experience aversive and possibly painful stimuli that can contribute to healthcare noncompliance. Compliance in the context of health care should be defined prior to a consideration of why it might not occur. Performance of each response of a healthcare routine, as well as the responses' antecedents and consequences, can be directly observed and scored. Based on an analysis of these observational data and the use of parent questionnaires, tentative hypotheses could be formed regarding why noncompliance might have occurred for specific steps of the routine. The following classes of factors that might account for healthcare noncompliance could occur either individually or in combination. Interventions to address noncompliance issues are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)