Increasing ingestible allergy safety skills in autistic children using derived relational training for effective health and safety training

This study examined the use of Derived Relational Training (DRT) to teach autistic children to identify and avoid ingestible allergens. Given the limited research on interventions that support independent allergy management in autistic populations, the study assessed whether DRT could facilitate allergen recognition, refusal responses, and generalization to novel but related stimuli. Using a single-subject design, participants received a relational training intervention grounded in Relational Frame Theory (RFT), incorporating multiple exemplar training to establish A→B (allergen to reaction) and B→C (reaction to refusal) relations. The emergence of the untrained A→C relation and generalization to A→D (novel allergen) were then evaluated. Three participants, aged 5 to 12, completed baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases. Data were analyzed via visual inspection of changes in trend, level, and variability across conditions. Results indicated that all participants acquired the trained relations, demonstrated derived relational responding, and generalized refusal behaviors to untrained allergens. These findings extend the application of DRT to safety skill instruction and support its utility in teaching flexible, functional behavior in applied settings for autistic children.

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