Abstract
Approximately 90% of parents who have children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report that their children have considerably more feeding problems and eat a significantly narrower range of foods than their children without ASD (Ahearn, Castine, Nault, & Green, 2001; Schreck, Williams, & Smith, 2004). Few studies have examined the effects of high-probability (high-p) instructional sequencing in the treatment of food selectivity, and results of these studies have been mixed (e.g., Dawson, Piazza, Sevin, Gulotta, Lerman, & Kelley, 2003; Patel, Reed, Piazza, Mueller, Bachmeyer, & Layer, 2007). The present study evaluated a high-p instructional sequence with three boys between the ages of 8 and 12 diagnosed with an ASD. Response requirements were gradually increased from responses the child would tolerate (e.g., toughing the food) to the final requirement of chewing and swallowing the food presented. The high-p instructional sequence was implemented in the absence of escape extinction. Results indicated that the high-p instructional sequence was effective in increasing food consumption for two participants. Further, minimal inappropriate mealtime behaviors were observed, which has been reported as one of the drawbacks of using an escape extinction procedure. Preference and generalization for non-targeted foods did not occur and consumption of non-targeted foods did not increase until those foods were presented using the high-p sequence the increase. However, results showed that acceptance for the targeted foods generalized across people and environments. Since this treatment protocol did not require physical intervention and sessions were not time consuming, teachers may be successful in implementing this treatment within the school setting. Further research is recommended in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the high-p instructional sequence in the home and school environments.