Correspondence Training Using Special Interests to Increase Compliance During Transitions: An Emerging Technology

Since the Risley and Hart’s (1968) study, several researchers have tested the impact of correspondence training on the use of play materials (Baer et al. 1985; De Freitas Ribeiro 1989), on-task behavior (Bevill et al. 2001; Morrison et al. 2002; Machalicek et al. 2009), social behaviors (Odom and Watts 1991; Osnes et al. 1986; Rogers-Warren and Baer 1976), compliance (Ruiz-Olivarez et al. 2010; Weninger and Baer 1990), self-care skills (Stokes et al. 2004), and verbally mediated responses (Lima and Rodrigues 2010). Recently, The Power Card strategy (Gagnon 2001), an intervention that provides visual and written cues to match a desired behavior to that of the individual’s special interest, has been used to increase compliance (Angell et al. 2011; Campbell and Tincani 2011) and social skills (Keeling et al. 2003; Spencer et al. 2008). A review of Matt’s Individual Education Program reported the outcome of a functional assessment conducted by the school psychologist 2 months prior to the start of the study. Materials Matt’s educational records stated that picture cues and activity schedules had been used but were not effective for increasing compliance and on-task behavior during transitions. [...]the experimenter interviewed the classroom teachers and Matt’s parents to identify a high-interest character or person to be incorporated into the task analytic picture cues.