Increasing hairdressing compliance with a child with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) itself can include problems with hyper responsiveness to different sensory stimuli. These difficulties can lead to different maladaptive behavioral manifestations and prevent children diagnosed with ASD from participating in certain activities. The aim of the present case study was to examine the effectiveness of shaping procedure application in order to increase compliance with haircutting with a six year old boy diagnosed with ASD. The procedure used for increasing compliance while getting a haircut was shaping and we divided the intervention into two phases. Phase one involved teaching the participant to tolerate the presence of the hair clipper on his head, while phase two consisted of increasing participant’s toleration of the sound emitted by the hair clipper. Generalization probe involved taking the participant into a hair salon, where he would receive hair grooming performed by a professional hair stylist. The child mastered phase one in 54 trials that were conducted during five sessions and mastered the goal time in phase two in 89 trials that were conducted during four sessions. In conclusion, shaping procedure appears to be an effective and efficient training procedure for teaching skills that are important for future everyday functioning in society of children with ASD, as well as basic hygiene skills, such as hair cutting. Study limitations and future research implications are discussed.