A Safe-Word Intervention for Abduction Prevention in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Most abduction-prevention strategies focus on teaching children safe responses to lures from strangers; however, statistics suggest that the majority of nonfamily abductions are conducted by people who are, to some extent, familiar to the child. We evaluated the effects of a safe-word intervention t...

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Published in:Behavior analysis in practice Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 872 - 882
Main Authors: Rodriguez, Chelsee N., Jackson, Marianne L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-12-2020
Springer Nature B.V
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Summary:Most abduction-prevention strategies focus on teaching children safe responses to lures from strangers; however, statistics suggest that the majority of nonfamily abductions are conducted by people who are, to some extent, familiar to the child. We evaluated the effects of a safe-word intervention to address this discrepancy and decrease the likelihood that a child will leave with a person not appointed by his or her parents, regardless of whether the person is familiar or unfamiliar to the child. Five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, aged 4–9 years old, were taught a 4-part response to lures from familiar and unfamiliar adults using a behavioral skills training package with in situ training added as needed. All participants met initial mastery criteria, with 4 of the 5 children requiring the addition of in situ training, and all maintained mastery levels at a 2-month follow-up.
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ISSN:1998-1929
2196-8934
DOI:10.1007/s40617-020-00418-x