Lynn Koegel
Stanford University, School of Medicine, Faculty Member
Despite improvements in interventions for children with autism, assessments tend to focus on their social, cognitive, and behavioral deficits, without similar systematic examination of their strengths. Strength-based assessment (SBA),... more
Despite improvements in interventions for children with autism, assessments tend to focus on their social, cognitive, and behavioral deficits, without similar systematic examination of their strengths. Strength-based assessment (SBA), which has been used in work with children with milder behavioral disorders, may also have value for individuals who have autism. Although not supplanting usual assessment procedures, SBA provides a method for identifying personal, familial, and broader contextual strengths. Research outside the area of autism has found that SBA can be a useful addition to assessment protocols because it provides specific information on assets that can be incorporated into interventions. Further, SBA has the potential to affect the attitudes and beliefs of parents and educators involved in the assessment, creating greater hope about the ability of the child to function well and contributing to a stronger bond between the assessor, the child, and their family. This artic...
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The purpose of this article is to present an overview of several pivotal response interventions. Our research at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been focused on attempting to identify pivotal areas that, when changed,... more
The purpose of this article is to present an overview of several pivotal response interventions. Our research at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been focused on attempting to identify pivotal areas that, when changed, result in concomitant positive changes in other areas. Pivotal areas that are discussed include responsivity to multiple cues, motivation to initiate and respond appropriately to social and environmental stimuli, and self-regulation of behavior, including self-management and self-initiations. The trend to streamline intervention by targeting behaviors that will have widespread effects on development, rather than targeting individual behaviors one at a time, is discussed.
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Many children with autism display reactions to auditory stimuli that seem as if the stimuli were painful or otherwise extremely aversive. This article describes, within the contexts of three experimental designs, how procedures of... more
Many children with autism display reactions to auditory stimuli that seem as if the stimuli were painful or otherwise extremely aversive. This article describes, within the contexts of three experimental designs, how procedures of systematic desensitization can be used to treat hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli in three young children with autism. Stimuli included the sounds from a vacuum cleaner, blender, hand-mixer, toilet flushing, and specific animal sounds from musical toys. A changing criterion design was used and data were collected on (a) the number of hierarchical steps completed as comfortable with the stimulus per week and (b) the mean level of anxiety per probe. A clinical replication was implemented using a replication of the desensitization procedures for three children. In addition, a systematic replication across three different stimuli is presented for one child in a multiple baseline. The data show that the children's responses could be modified to the point...
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Accumulating studies are documenting specific motivational variables that, when combined into a naturalistic teaching paradigm, can positively influence the effectiveness of interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).... more
Accumulating studies are documenting specific motivational variables that, when combined into a naturalistic teaching paradigm, can positively influence the effectiveness of interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to compare two applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention procedures, a naturalistic approach, pivotal response treatment (PRT) with a structured ABA approach in a school setting. A randomized clinical trial design using two groups of children, matched according to age, sex and mean length of utterance was used to compare the interventions. The data showed that the PRT approach was significantly more effective in improving targeted and untargeted areas after 3 months of intervention. The results are discussed in terms of variables that produce more rapid improvements in communication for children with ASD.
Research Interests: Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Education, Autism, Treatment Outcome, and 14 moreApplied Behavior Analysis, Medicine, Humans, Child, Behavior Therapy, Female, Male, Psychological Intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Randomized Controlled Trial, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Naturalistic Observation, Child preschool, and Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
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Research Interests: Psychology, Behavior Modification, Research Methodology, Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and 13 morePhysical Activity, Applied Behavior Analysis, Aggression, Intervention, Psychological Intervention, Exercise, Systematic review, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aerobic, Weight Training, Physical Exercise, Motor Behavior, and Psychomotor Skills Education
Empirical studies have documented a variety of social abnormalities in infancy that indicate risk for later social and behavioral difficulties. There is very little research illustrating the presence of such behavioral vulnerabilities... more
Empirical studies have documented a variety of social abnormalities in infancy that indicate risk for later social and behavioral difficulties. There is very little research illustrating the presence of such behavioral vulnerabilities with frequent repeated measures, and the feasibility of designing interventions for improving social engagement in infants less than 1 year of age. In the context of a multiple baseline research design, three young infants, ages 4, 7, and 9 months, referred for concerns about social engagement were assessed for affect, social interest, eye contact avoidance, and response to name. In addition, the feasibility of implementing an intervention to target social behaviors was examined. Results demonstrated that (a) consistently low or erratic levels of social behavior were evident throughout the baseline assessment period, (b) these patterns could be improved with a brief intervention (a modified Pivotal Response Treatment) showing an immediate increase and ...
Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Autism, Medicine, Interpersonal Relationship, and 13 moreSocial behavior, Classical Conditioning, Social Development, Intervention, Psychological Intervention, Eye Movements, Social Environment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Behavior, Social Engagement, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports), and multiple baseline design
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The Nova Scotia early intensive behavior intervention model—NS EIBI (Bryson et al., 2007) for children with autistic spectrum disorders was designed to be feasible and sustainable in community settings. It combines parent training and... more
The Nova Scotia early intensive behavior intervention model—NS EIBI (Bryson et al., 2007) for children with autistic spectrum disorders was designed to be feasible and sustainable in community settings. It combines parent training and naturalistic one-to-one behavior intervention employing Pivotal Response Treatment—PRT (R. Koegel & Koegel, 2006). We followed 45 children (33 males, mean baseline age = 50 months) for 12 months. Mean gains of 14.9 and 19.5 months were observed on expressive and receptive language measures, respectively, for children with an IQ of 50 or more at baseline versus 6.1 and 8.4 months for children with IQs less than 50. Behavior problems decreased significantly over the 1-year treatment for both groups, but autism symptoms decreased only for those with an IQ of 50 or more.
Research Interests: Program Evaluation, Psychology, Education, Autism, Intelligence, and 15 moreMedicine, Canada, Humans, Female, Male, Infant, Nova Scotia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Behavior, Child Health Services, Child preschool, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Community health services, Language Development Disorders, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research Interests: Psychology, Education, Autism, Treatment Outcome, Medicine, and 14 moreGeneralization, Humans, Child, Behavior Therapy, Male, Flexibility in engineering design, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Meals, Repertoire, Food Preferences, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, multiple baseline design, and reinforcement psychology
Social engagement by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in unstructured school settings generally occurs at very low levels, if at all. Although many interventions improve peer socialization, generalization and maintenance of... more
Social engagement by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in unstructured school settings generally occurs at very low levels, if at all. Although many interventions improve peer socialization, generalization and maintenance of such gains when interventions are faded are typically low. The present study employed a multiple baseline design across participants to target generalization in the absence of interventionists in elementary school children with ASD at recess. Teaching initiations has been suggested as one method to increase generalization. The results of the present study showed that when initiations were targeted during intervention for social play, the participants demonstrated generalized peer social engagement, increases in unprompted peer-directed initiations, and more positive affect during peer interactions. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and applied implications of incorporating initiations training into social interventions.
Research Interests: Psychology, Communication, Education, Autism, Nonverbal Communication, and 15 moreConversation, Medicine, Empathy, High Functioning Autism, Generalization, Humans, Male, Verbal behavior, Young Adult, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Adult, Sensory Feedback, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and multiple baseline design
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Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Communication, Education, Autism, and 14 moreTreatment Outcome, Medicine, Motivation, Social behavior, Humans, Behavior Therapy, Male, Interpersonal Relations, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Behavior, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Child preschool, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and multiple baseline design
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Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Education, Autism, Socialization, and 14 moreAdolescent, Medicine, Social behavior, Students, Humans, RECREATION, Female, Male, Psychological Intervention, Interpersonal Relations, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Peer group, Social Behavior, and Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
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Social engagement by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in unstructured school settings generally occurs at very low levels, if at all. Although many interventions improve peer socialization, generalization and maintenance of... more
Social engagement by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in unstructured school settings generally occurs at very low levels, if at all. Although many interventions improve peer socialization, generalization and maintenance of such gains when interventions are faded are typically low. The present study employed a multiple baseline design across participants to target generalization in the absence of interventionists in elementary school children with ASD at recess. Teaching initiations has been suggested as one method to increase generalization. The results of the present study showed that when initiations were targeted during intervention for social play, the participants demonstrated generalized peer social engagement, increases in unprompted peer-directed initiations, and more positive affect during peer interactions. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and applied implications of incorporating initiations training into social interventions.
Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Behavior Modification, Autism, Medicine, and 15 moreGeneralization, Humans, Child, Behavior Therapy, Female, Male, Elementary School, Psychological Intervention, Interpersonal Relations, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Peer group, Positive Affect, Child preschool, multiple baseline design, and Mainstreaming education
Purpose Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty asking questions during social conversation, which can negatively impact their interactions with peers. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a... more
Purpose Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty asking questions during social conversation, which can negatively impact their interactions with peers. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a question bank intervention would be effective in improving question asking during social conversation. Method In the context of a multiple-baseline experimental design, we implemented an intervention using prepractice with question banks designed to increase the number and diversity of questions asked by adolescents and adults with ASD during social conversations with their peers. Results Following intervention, all participants improved their use of questions in natural settings with their neurotypical peers. Generalization to novel questions occurred, and gains were maintained at follow-up. Finally, supplemental measures of social validity showed that similarly aged neurotypical peers who were naïve to the experimental hypothesis rated two of the three ...
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Recent research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may now be reliably identified in later infancy, highlighting the need for empirically-validated interventions for infants and toddlers with early symptoms of ASD.... more
Recent research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may now be reliably identified in later infancy, highlighting the need for empirically-validated interventions for infants and toddlers with early symptoms of ASD. Using a multiple baseline design across 15- to 21-month-old toddlers, this study implemented a brief, parent-mediated, Pivotal Response Treatment program, focusing on improving expressive communication. The results indicated that verbal communication improved as a consequence of the intervention, with concomitant improvements in untreated areas for all participants. Following the intervention, symptoms of autism decreased and parents reported satisfaction with the program's ease of implementation and observed child gains. The results are discussed in terms of developing very early interventions to improve developmental trajectories for infants and toddlers.
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Research has demonstrated that incorporating restricted interests of an individual with autism into recess activities is effective at increasing socialization with typically developing peers. However, certain activity contexts may alter... more
Research has demonstrated that incorporating restricted interests of an individual with autism into recess activities is effective at increasing socialization with typically developing peers. However, certain activity contexts may alter the reinforcing influence of the restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) depending on an individual's history in that activity. Using an alternating treatment design, this study examined whether an individual's history with an activity affected socialization. RRBs were embedded into activities with a reported positive history (i.e., prior history of positive experiences) and activities with a reported negative history (i.e., prior history of aversive experiences) for participants. Data indicated that socialization increased and remained above baseline levels when RRBs were introduced during activities with a positive history, whereas socialization was minimal when RRBs were introduced in activities with a negative history. Social significance ...
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Prescription medications are commonly used for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, there is little research regarding how the effect of medication is monitored across settings once prescribed. The present study... more
Prescription medications are commonly used for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, there is little research regarding how the effect of medication is monitored across settings once prescribed. The present study addressed this issue for children with ASD in school by administering a questionnaire to teachers of students with ASD who were and were not being given medication. Specifically, the questionnaire assessed the teachers' knowledge about whether the child was being given medication, and whether behavior changes or side effects were being communicated in any way to the child's family and prescribing physician. The results showed that for children who were being given medication, fewer than half of the teachers reported knowing the child was being given medication. For those children who were not being given medication, only 53% of the teachers reported correct information for their students. Of the teachers who knew their students were being given medi...
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The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether manipulation of variables related to motivation and attention in children with autism would influence performance on standardized tests. Two different testing conditions were compared:... more
The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether manipulation of variables related to motivation and attention in children with autism would influence performance on standardized tests. Two different testing conditions were compared: One consisted of the usual standardized testing procedures; during the other, specific variables that were hypothesized to relate to each child's responsiveness to task stimuli were manipulated.
Research Interests: Developmental Psychology, Education, Autism, Intelligence, Personality Assessment, and 15 moreAttention, Experimental Design, Medicine, Motivation, Humans, Child, Evaluation methods, Female, Male, Condition number, Neuropsychological Tests, Autistic disorder, Child preschool, Child behavior disorders, and Language Development Disorders
This article discusses the identification of pivotal behaviors for maximizing the impact of intervention for children with autism. Language deficits are not likely to make sufficient improvement unless pivotal variables, such as... more
This article discusses the identification of pivotal behaviors for maximizing the impact of intervention for children with autism. Language deficits are not likely to make sufficient improvement unless pivotal variables, such as motivation, are addressed in the design of intervention programs. Pivotal target behaviors related to such children's motivation to engage in social communication are discussed, and their integration into a Natural Language Teaching Paradigm is described. Of particular interest are variables related to child choice, the use of natural reinforcers, the interspersal of maintenance trials to build behavioral momentum, and reinforcing communicative attempts. When used in combination to motivate the children to engage in and initiate communicative interactions, the impact on development can be considerable in terms of rate of acquisition, generalization of gains, and normalization of language development.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Communication, Autism, Language Therapy, and 13 moreMedicine, Language disorders, Teaching, Generalization, Humans, Child, Natural language, Clinical Sciences, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Archaeology of Natural Places, Autistic disorder, Child preschool, and reinforcement psychology
Research Interests: Developmental Psychology, Communication, Language Acquisition, Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and 15 moreChild Development, Attention, Forecasting, Language, Joint attention, Autism and Language, Intention, Interpersonal Relationship, Humans, Child, Intervention, Eye Movements, Clinical Sciences, Autistic disorder, and Child preschool
Purpose: The importance of coordination of educational services has been well documented in the literature. For students with disabilities, coordinated programs result in more rapid acquisition of targeted behaviors and the increased... more
Purpose: The importance of coordination of educational services has been well documented in the literature. For students with disabilities, coordinated programs result in more rapid acquisition of targeted behaviors and the increased likelihood of long-term maintenance of gains. The purpose of this study was to assess whether "priming" or exposing students with autism and disruptive behaviors to school assignments before their presentation in class would affect academic performance and problem behaviors. Method: Two students diagnosed with autism who attended general education classrooms, both of whom exhibited numerous disruptive behaviors and low academic performance, participated in this study. A repeated reversals design was used to monitor student progress. Results: The results demonstrated decreases in problem behavior and increases in academic responding when priming sessions occurred. Clinical Implications: Application is discussed in terms of a mechanism for speec...
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The literature suggests that adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) typically are not socially engaged during unstructured school activities and do not initiate social activities with typically developing peers. This study... more
The literature suggests that adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) typically are not socially engaged during unstructured school activities and do not initiate social activities with typically developing peers. This study assessed whether implementing socialization opportunities in the form of lunch clubs based around aspects of the adolescents with ASD’s perseverative interests would promote positive and direct social interaction between the target adolescent and their typically developing peers. A repeated measures multiple baseline experimental design (with two reversals) was implemented across participants. During baseline measures, the participants did not show social engagement or initiations. During intervention, results showed large increases in both social engagement and initiations. These results have implications for understanding variables related to social development in autism.
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Research suggests that incorporating the circumscribed ritualistic interests of children with autism as a theme of activities can improve their socialization. The current study assessed whether socialization would improve if more general... more
Research suggests that incorporating the circumscribed ritualistic interests of children with autism as a theme of activities can improve their socialization. The current study assessed whether socialization would improve if more general interests of children on the autism spectrum that would also be of interest to their typical peers were incorporated into activities. Three children with autism, who were included in regular education classes but did not seek out or interact with peers prior to intervention, participated. Data were collected in the context of a multiple baseline across-participants design, with a reversal for one child. Activities that were identified to be of interest to the study participants and their typical peers were implemented as clubs twice weekly during regular lunchtime periods. Results showed that all three children demonstrated large increases in their time engaged with peers as a result of the activities, with minimal training of the interventionist an...
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Accumulating studies are documenting specific motivational variables that, when combined into a naturalistic teaching paradigm, reliably influence the effectiveness of language teaching interactions for children with autism. However, the... more
Accumulating studies are documenting specific motivational variables that, when combined into a naturalistic teaching paradigm, reliably influence the effectiveness of language teaching interactions for children with autism. However, the effectiveness of this approach has not yet been assessed with respect to improving speech intelligibility. The purpose of this study was to systematically compare two intervention conditions, a Naturalistic approach (which
Research Interests: Psychology, Education, Interpersonal Communication, Phonetics, Autism, and 15 moreNaturalism, Conversation, Language Therapy, Medicine, Motivation, Language Teaching, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Autistic disorder, Child preschool, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Articulation Disorders, and Language Development Disorders
Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Education, Language Acquisition, Autism, and 13 moreNonverbal Communication, Language Therapy, Medicine, Generalization, Humans, Natural language, Verbal behavior, Stimulus Control, Teaching Technique, Autistic disorder, Child preschool, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and multiple baseline design
Research Interests: Psychology, Communication, Education, Autism, Self Care, and 15 moreAdolescent, Conversation, Medicine, Social behavior, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Naturalness, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Behavior, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Reciprocal, Child preschool, and Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Research Interests: Psychology, Pediatrics, Education, Research Design, Psychotherapy, and 12 moreAutism, Treatment Outcome, Medicine, Humans, Psychological Intervention, Mental Disorders, Empirical Research, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Neurosciences, Autistic disorder, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and empirically supported treatment
Research Interests: Developmental Psychology, Communication, Education, Language Acquisition, Autism, and 15 moreLanguage Development, Language, Communication Skills, Learning, Generalization, Information seeking, Humans, Male, Information Seeking, Linguistic Competence, Collateral, Initiations, Autistic disorder, Child preschool, and Macho
Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Communication, Education, Autism, and 15 moreAttention, Nonverbal Communication, Medicine, Motivation, Affect, Humans, Behavior Therapy, Male, Interpersonal Relations, Eye Contact, Autistic disorder, Child preschool, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Language Development Disorders, and reinforcement psychology
Research Interests: Psychology, Education, Autism, Parenting, Medicine, and 13 moreParent Education, Humans, Child, Best practice, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Parents, Young Children, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Parent‐child Relations, Troubleshooting, Psychological Stress, Child preschool, and Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Research Interests: Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Communication, Education, Autism, and 14 moreConversation, Medicine, Social behavior, Humans, Child, Female, Verbal behavior, Interpersonal Relations, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Behavior, Guidance and Counseling Intervention Programs, Autistic disorder, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and multiple baseline design
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Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Case Studies, Spelling, Applied Behavior Analysis, and 15 moreMedicine, Elementary Education, Motivation, Affect, Humans, Child, Academic Performance, Teaching Methods, Behavior Therapy, Achievement, Academic achievement, Male, Cerebrovascular Disorders, multiple baseline design, and reinforcement psychology
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Autism, Self Management, and 15 moreApplied Behavior Analysis, Medicine, Social behavior, Humans, Child, Behavior Therapy, Applied, Male, Interpersonal Relations, Social Environment, Social Behavior, Autistic disorder, Child behavior disorders, Mainstreaming education, and Language Development Disorders
The purpose of this article is to discuss research opportunities arising from the current literature in the area of communication. Six general themes are discussed, including (a) increasing spontaneity, initiations, and the variety of... more
The purpose of this article is to discuss research opportunities arising from the current literature in the area of communication. Six general themes are discussed, including (a) increasing spontaneity, initiations, and the variety of functions of language verbal and nonverbal children with autism exhibit; (b) assessing and teaching precursors relating to positive outcome; (c) the importance of family involvement in
Research Interests: Developmental Psychology, Communication, Education, Interpersonal Communication, Language Acquisition, and 15 moreAutism, Family, Nonverbal Communication, Linguistics, Language Therapy, Medicine, Language disorders, Humans, Child, Best practice, Intervention, Autoregulation, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autistic disorder, and Child preschool
This study assessed play and social behavior of young children with autism in inclusive school settings to identify important targets for intervention. Data were collected for five children with autism and for typically developing peers.... more
This study assessed play and social behavior of young children with autism in inclusive school settings to identify important targets for intervention. Data were collected for five children with autism and for typically developing peers. All children with autism received intervention in one-on-one settings but did not have individual education plan goals that provided systematic intervention for developing play and social skills in their school settings. Results indicated the children with autism and their typically developing peers played with a comparable number of stimulus items (e.g., toys), but the children with autism engaged in these activities for shorter durations. Both children with autism and their typically developing peers engaged in similar levels of social interaction with adults. However, the children with autism rarely or never engaged in social interactions with their peers, whereas the typically developing peers frequently engaged in social interactions with other...