Massed versus distributed practice among children with ASD

Abstract

Teachers can incorporate different modifications of how information is presented to increase the effectiveness of instruction to children in the classroom. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require more learning opportunities to acquire information and skills. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has been utilized to teach children with ASD through a variety of techniques such as discrete trial teaching and errorless learning. This study posed the question of whether massed or distributed practice would be most beneficial for children with ASD. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to examine skill acquisition and maintenance for receptive identification items across massed and distributed practice among three participants with ASD. The findings from this study illustrated that both practice methods were effective across two participants and the opportunities to respond should be considered when programming for skill acquisition.