A Behavioral Analysis of Play Mark L. Sundberg Behavior Analysis Center for Autism and Cindy A. Sundberg Parenting Partnership

ABA and Play Common to criticize ABA for failing to include play (e.g., by Floortime/DIR, The Denver Model, RDI, Son-Rise) “Traditional ABA involves cognitive work, however, this is often done at the expense of imaginative, spontaneous, and creative play” (About Floortime, Examiner.com ) True for early ABA models, but not others (PRT, NET) Still, play is not well incorporated into ABA But the common professional vernacular regarding “play” is like that of “language” (undefined, vague, and cognitive) Play is behavior, with many benefits A behavioral analysis of play can improve assessment and intervention

The Importance of Play Brazelton (1992) suggested that, “Play remains a child’s most powerful way of learning” (p. 175) The reinforcement contingencies involved in play can establish a number of important skills Eye-hand coordination Scanning and tracking Figure-ground perception Sensory discriminations Stimulus and response generalization Staying on task and focusing on details Imitation, echoic, manding, matching, and listener skills Taking turns, sharing, proximity to others, social rules, etc. Creativity, spontaneity, novelty

The Importance of Play Play skills, or lack there of, are also related to other more complex repertoires: Maladaptive behaviors (tantrums, aggressive behaviors) Self-stimulatory behaviors or other repetitive behaviors Regulate emotions Tolerating change, disruption, failure, etc. (coping skills) Problem solving Persistence (resistance to extinction) Responding to multiple stimuli simultaneously Productive leisure time activities Facilitates social play Sustained and direct engagement with physical environmental Independence

The Importance of Play Play provides a comfortable and natural way for parents and children to interact A child who does not engage in play behavior is missing out on a rich source of naturally occurring teaching trials Children with autism often demonstrate deficits in play skills, especially social play skills

The Distinction Between Individual Play and Social Play It is not uncommon to see children with autism who have exceptional independent play skills, but extremely weak social play skills The opposite effect is less common, but certainly occurs A behavioral analysis of the contingencies involved in these two forms of play can clarify the distinction, and guide assessment and intervention programs Independent play involves primarily nonverbal behavior (although self-verbal behavior is common) Social play involves both verbal and nonverbal interactions, and is a major contributor to language development

A Behavioral Analysis of Individual Play Independent play consists of behavior that is established, maintained, or increased primarily by automatic (natural) contingencies Skinner’s (1957) usage of “automatic” is simply to counteract “any tendency to restrict the concept of reinforcement to those occasions upon which it has been deliberately arranged by another person or group” (Vaughan & Michael, 1982, p. 218) Automatic reinforcement (Skinner, 1957) can be provided by (1) the physical environment (e.g., knocking over a tower) and/or (2) the response product emanating from the behavior (e.g., swinging) All behavioral principles can operate automatically (e.g., automatic punishment, automatic extinction, automatic stimulus control) Thus “automatic contingencies” is a better term

A Behavioral Analysis of Individual Play Natural (automatic) unlearned motivating operations (UMOs) are early sources of control for play (e.g, tactile, visual, auditory) Conditioned motivating operations (CMOs) are soon to follow For example, playing with a mobile Visual and tactile automatic reinforcers are available, given an MO Behavior is automatically shaped (e.g., reaching, grabbing, moving) Stimulus control is automatically established When the EO is strong, sight of the mobile ---> S D ---> reaching ---> contact with mobile and movement (auto S r ) Repeated contact establishes discriminations and generalization, while strengthening a number of behaviors (e.g., scanning, eye-hand coordination, figure-ground perception)

Just the Beginning of Independent Play Activities Dumping things out of containers Pop up toys Pull and pushing things Crawling, standing, jumping, climbing, spinning, etc. Turning pages Knocking stacks over Operating musical toys Connecting things Rolling, bouncing, throwing Arts and crafts Sports

A Behavioral Analysis of Social Play Social play consists of interactive behavior involving more than one player, and much of this behavior involves verbal behavior MOs and S D s constitute the antecedent events The behavior is primarily strengthened by the reciprocal social reinforcement provided to each other (auto S r can be involved as well) For example, an infant playing peek-a-boo with a parent may first observe the parent covering her eyes, then quickly uncovering them, followed by various entertaining facial reactions, sounds, etc. If these events function as reinforcement for the infant they will strengthen any behavior that proceeds the parent’s placing her hands over her eyes (e.g., eye contact, smiling, arm movement)

A Behavioral Analysis of Social Play Given an MO and the mother (S D ), the behavior of eye contact, smiling, etc. could become a generalized mand for continuing to play the game, and function as social reinforcement for the mother These social consequences may produce a back-and-forth child- mother interaction that may have other important behavioral effects as well The child may begin to demonstrate approximations to imitative behaviors by moving his hands close to his own eyes when the parent does so, or placing his hands over his mother’s eyes These behaviors could also take on a specific mand function (i.e., asking to continue to play the game), much in the same manner that smiling and eye contact served as a generalized mand

A Behavioral Analysis of Social Play Echoic behavior may occur Pairing with any number of stimuli present during the activity (hands over the eyes becomes a new conditioned reinforcer, mom becomes a stronger reinforcer) The child’s own emission of these behaviors (placing his hands over his own eyes) may become automatically reinforcing for the child (fun in and of itself) The automatic effect could be observed later when the child is alone and playing peek-a-boo by himself Failing to engage in play behavior eliminates these natural teaching contingencies, and may weaken an adult’s overall attempts to engage a child in play activities

Just the Beginning of Social Play Blowing bubbles Wave bye-bye Tickling Chasing Dancing Pulling a wagon Pushing a peer on a swing Pretend and imaginary play Roll playing Organized games Building forts

Assessment of Play Skills Identify a child’s existing independent and social play skills, and separate them out as in VB-MAPP Compare those skills to those of typically developing children Identify a child’s play and social learning barriers The results of the assessment can guide intervention (selecting the correct targets) For example, two completely different intervention programs for the following two VB-MAPP profiles

Intervention for Profile 1: Relatively Strong Independent Play Skills Using play and NET to teach new skills Step 1: Identify primary teaching target (e.g., mand and imitation) Step 2: Identify strong reinforcers and relevant MOs (“follow the child’s interests”) Step 3: Capture and/or create MOs (manipulate the MO and deliver contingent reinforcement as the IVs) Step 4: In the context of play, use standard NET teaching procedures (prompt, fade, reinforce, shape, chain, mand training, etc.)

Intervention for Profile 2: Weak or Absent Independent and Social Play Skills For children who do not engage in play activities, or have weak play skills at any VB-MAPP level, a target intervention is necessary Step 1: Identify strong reinforcers and relevant MOs (“follow the child’s interests”) Step 2: Capture and/or create MOs (manipulate the MO as an IV) Step 3: Require a response to obtain reinforcement and shape Step 4: Establish stimulus generalization Step 5: Establish response variation Step 6: Establish a discrimination Step 7: Shift from direct reinforcement to automatic reinforcement

Conclusion Play is an important component of any intervention program A balance between independent play, social play, and formal intensive teaching is suggested There are many ways that play can be used for skill development The various procedures suggested by Floortime, RDI, The Denver Model, etc. may be valuable, but it’s the analysis of behavior and learning that should drive the individual program A child’s program should be based on the assessment and analysis of his needs, not a packaged program or approach Behavior analysis has much to offer in the area of independent play and social play for children with autism