Candidate: Sebastien Bosch

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: The Making of a Textbook on Behavior Analysis and Autism: A Behavior Analytic Approach

Committee:
Dr. Richard W. Malott, Chair
Dr. Dale Brethower
Dr. Alan Poling
Dr. Steven Ragtzy

Date: Friday, June 29, 2001, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
3715 Wood Hall

Abstract:
After deciding that a need existed for writing a textbook on autism from a behavior analytic perspective, Dr. Malott and I developed Behavior Analysis, Autism and Related Disabilities (BAARD) for use by the students enrolled in the autism practicum at Western Michigan University. As in a circular relationship, the practicum students evaluated and guided the subsequent revisions influenced the subsequent evaluations.

BAARD covers all the principles and concepts of behavior analysis that are relevant to treatments and issues in autism and related disabilities and numerous treatments and phenomena specific to developmental disabilities.

During its development, the textbook was evaluated at two levels: the students' evaluation and their performance. The students' evaluations of the material were assessed along various dimensions. The students' rating improved across semesters, independently of revisions, and the overall ratings were positive.

After reading the final draft of BAARD, practicum students and non-practicum psychology students (who had not read BAARD) took a conceptual test. The practicum students and the non-practicum students tended to use the same amount of mentalistic terms. However, the non-practicum students made a few more errors in describing or applying the concepts, and the practicum students used considerably more concepts and procedures in their answers.

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