Date of Award
Spring 5-16-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Paige Boydston
Second Advisor
Laura Covert-Miller
Third Advisor
Jamie Wood
Fourth Advisor
Robin Blair
Keywords
Autism, Safety Skills, Behavioral Skills Training, Equivalence Based Instruction, Safe Responding, Relational Frame Theory
Abstract
Approximately 12,000 children die yearly due to accidental injuries (Centers for Disease Control, 2023). Injuries include ingestion of hazardous substances, firearm discharges, lacerations, and drownings. Data reflect general injury rates in children, but analyses across demographic variables are limited. Children with developmental disabilities may have specific risk factors for injury due to delayed language acquisition and deficits in daily living skills (American Psychological Association [APA], 2022). Evidence-based procedures such as stimulus equivalence training (SET) and behavioral skills training (BST) have been used to teach safety skills (e.g., Giannakakos, 2021; Hanratty et al., 2016), which may reduce injuries in children. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate and expand the use of SET and BST to teach safety skills to children with autism. A treatment package consisting of discrimination and multiple exemplar training, stimulus equivalence probes, and BST for safety responses was used to teach three children with autism to respond in the presence of potentially dangerous items. The study used a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants to increase safe responding from baseline levels. Across three participants, baseline data ranged from 0-20% during SET probes and 0-20% during in-vivo safety responses, and intervention responding reaching 100% in both SET probes and in-vivo safety responses. Safety responses also generalized from trained stimuli to novel stimuli during intervention for two of three participants.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Jacob J., "TEACHING DANGEROUS STIMULI AND SAFETY RESPONSES THROUGH EQUIVALENCE BASED INSTRUCTION AND BEHAVIORAL SKILLS TRAINING" (2026). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 847.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/847
