Investigating the Step Size in a Progressive-Ratio Schedule of Reinforcement for Young Children with Autism.

Abstract

Therapists who provide behavioral therapy to young children with autism need to identify preferred items in order to potentially use the items as reinforcers in a therapy session. The current study examined the differences in break points, total responses, total reinforcement obtained, and session length in both an additive step size PR schedule and a geometric step size PR schedule for a young child with characteristics similar to autism.