Abstract: 

The core deficits of autism, including restricted or repetitive behaviors and impaired social interaction, can often lead to a limited play repertoire (Faras et al., 2010). Learning and exploring through play is also a behavioral cusp that significantly expands their environment, learning new skills and access a wider range of reinforcers. This makes play an important skill to teach when working with children in an early intervention setting. The early stages of play include a range of behaviors, from simple motor movements to complex paired actions and vocalizations. A proven method to assess the need for intervention is breaking larger, complex skills down and identifying the component motor skills needed to succeed (Kubina, 2019). Once a motor movement is determined to be a deficit, there are ways to intervene in a naturalistic, discrete trial training or fluency-based instruction teaching arrangement. After deciding the type of teaching strategy to use, it is imperative the correct materials are chosen. This training will focus on identifying key motor skills that lead to more complex play behavior, deciphering teaching arrangements based on learner profiles, and choosing materials to catapult learning. 

Bio: 

Christina Gallagher is a Precision Teacher and practitioner in Applied Behavior Analysis. Her passion for helping children led her to Temple University, where she received a Master’s in Special Education and later became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. In the last five years, Christina has dedicated her efforts to support early intervention for children with Autism. She is currently working on an instructional library in programming for staff and is a part of the clinical training team.  

Three Learning Objectives: 

1. Assess the need for intervention on motor skills needed for complex play behavior
2. Choose a teaching arrangement based on the learner profile
3. Curate materials and activities to work on specific skills