Toward automatic motivator selection for autism behavior  intervention therapy

Siyam, Nur; Abdallah, Sherief

Toward automatic motivator selection for autism behavior intervention therapy

Date

2022

Authors

Siyam, Nur

Abdallah, Sherief

Publisher

ProQuest Central

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) usually show little interest in academic activities and may display disruptive behavior when presented with assignments. Research indicates that incorporating motivational variables during interven tions results in improvements in behavior and academic performance. However, the impact of such motivational variables varies between children. In this paper, we aim to address the problem of selecting the right motivator for children with ASD using reinforcement learning by adapting to the most infuential factors impacting the efectiveness of the contingent motivator used. We model the task of selecting a motivator as a Markov decision process problem. The states, actions and rewards design consider the factors that impact the efectiveness of a motivator based on applied behavior analysis as well as learners’ individual preferences. We use a Q-learning algorithm to solve the modeled problem. Our proposed solution is then implemented as a mobile application developed for special education plans coordination. To evaluate the motivator selection feature, we conduct a study involving a group of teachers and therapists and assess how the added feature aids the participants in their decision-making process of selecting a motivator. Preliminary results indicated that the motivator selection feature improved the usability of the mobile app. Analysis of the algorithm performance showed promising results and indicated improvement of the recommendations over time.

Keywords

Special education · Autism · Markov decision processes · Reinforcement learning · Behavior intervention · Intervention therapy

Citation

“Toward automatic motivator selection for autism behavior intervention therapy” (2023) Universal Access in the Information Society, 22(4), pp. 1369–1391.