Identification of Untrained Emotions by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder after Equivalence Relations Training

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the application of equivalencebased instruction (EBI) to teaching facial emotions both as an isolated stimulus and their relevance to a social context. Nine children with ASD aged 9-12 years were taught to identify six facial expressions of emotions (A) and to relate them to the situational context (C) by using the stimulus equivalence technology. The participants were using a tablet and the stimuli were presented to the participants on the tablet’s screen. A pre-test was conducted to assess the participants’ existing ability to match pictures of facial expressions (A) to written labels of emotions (B), written labels (B) to pictures of emotional situations (C) and pictures of facial expressions (A) to pictures of emotional situations (C). In the test phase, a matchingto- sample procedure was used to teach the participants to match AB and BC. A post-test, identical to the pre-test, re-assessed the participants’ skills after training. Generalisation probes were conducted using novel picture stimuli and video clips. Preliminary group data on each emotion are presented in conjunction with individual performances. The results suggest that stimulus equivalence training can be effective in teaching emotional recognition to children with ASD. However, generalisation results varied remarkably between participants. Clinical and further research implications will be discussed.