Teaching generalized reading and spelling to children with autism

We examined the effects of constructed-response matching-to-sample (CRMTS) training on the generalization of reading and spelling skills in three Japanese children with autism using a series of overlapping-syllable word sets. We taught them to construct printed words to match printed words, spoken words, and pictures through the CRMTS procedure. Hence, two participants performed well in the generalized reading and spelling skills of untrained words. However, one participant did not meet the criterion for the generalization of reading and spelling skills. We taught her to break a word into each syllable as a differential observing response to the sample in the task. The modified CRMTS procedure enabled her to establish the generalized reading and spelling skills. This study discusses that the procedure and the modified CRMTS with differential observing response are effective for acquisition of generalized reading and spelling skills in children with autism.     

Teaching intraverbal behavior to children with autism

Skinner's conceptual analysis of language has influenced one model of early and intensive behavioral intervention with children, which incorporates verbal operants including mands, tacts, intraverbals, etc. Many studies have examined the mand and tact relations, with little focus on teaching intraverbal behavior. In the present experiment, children with autism were taught intraverbals using a transfer-of-stimulus-control procedure (i.e., tact to intraverbal) in combination with errorless learning (i.e., delayed prompting). Three children were successfully taught to name items associated with preselected categories (e.g., “What are some colors?”) with limited generalization to a fourth, non-targeted category, and limited maintenance of skills.     

The effectiveness of a group teaching interaction procedure for teaching social skills to young children with a pervasive developmental disorder

Deficits in social skills are characteristic of children with autism. Clinicians often include teaching these skills as part of comprehensive curriculum. One method of developing social skills for children with autism is the teaching interaction procedure. This procedure involves describing the behavior, providing a rational and cues when to use the behavior, dividing the skill into smaller steps, demonstrating the behavior, having the learner role play the behavior, and providing feedback. This study implemented a teaching interaction procedure as part of group social-skills instruction for five children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. A multiple-probe design across behaviors and replicated across participants was used. All five participants acquired the social skills taught to them and generalization was promoted.     

Teaching autistic and severely handicapped children to recruit praise: acquisition and generalization

Autistic and severely handicapped children were taught to ask questions (e.g., "How did I do?") and make requests (e.g., "Check it out") to recruit or set the occasion for praise from an adult. Teaching occurred during structured sessions in a community-based group home. Generalization of the children's use of these behaviors was evaluated during other activities in the teaching area, with other staff members in different areas of the home, and at each child's academic classroom. The children learned the behaviors to cue or set the occasion for praise independently and used these behaviors in all of the generalization settings. In the generalizations settings, the children were frequently successful in recruiting praise.     

Comparing two methods to promote generalization of receptive identification in children with autism spectrum disorders

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to compare the effects of serial and concurrent training on the generalization of receptive identification in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: We taught one to three pairs of stimulus sets to nine children with ASD between the ages of three and six. One stimulus set within each pair was taught using concurrent training and the other using serial training. We alternated the training sessions within a multielement design and staggered the introduction of subsequent pairs for each participant as in a multiple baseline design. Results: Overall, six participants generalized at least one stimulus set more rapidly with concurrent training whereas two participants showed generalization more rapidly with serial training. Conclusions: Our results differ from other comparison studies on the topic and indicate that practitioners should consider assessing the effects of both procedures prior to teaching receptive identification to children with ASD.     

Analog language teaching versus natural language teaching: Generalization and retention of language learning for adults with autism and mental retardation

Examined the effects of two instructional methods on language generalization and longterm retention in 23 adults with autism and severe to profound mental retardation. Analog language teaching employed discrete trials in a controlled setting concentrating on discrimination and identification of materials. Natural language teaching emphasized instruction through interactions that occurred incidentally to training students in the use of materials to perform functional tasks. Assessments were conducted under conditions favoring analog teaching to assure against partiality toward natural language teaching. Under such disadvantageous conditions, the methods of natural language teaching would be supported by results showing either no difference or an advantage in their favor. Both techniques increased initial and long-term generalization though the results suggest no relative superiority for either method under these assessment conditions. A significant interaction was found between prior functioning level and sequence of instruction. Because natural language teaching has many strengths, few drawbacks, and produces equal generalization and retention under disadvantageous conditions, it is strongly supported as preferable for people with autism and mental retardation.The authors acknowledge the important assistance provided by the following people: the staff and management of the Behavior Development and Learning Center at CSH/DC directed by Israel Perel, Lisa Kramer, Steve Hafferkamp, James Lowdermilk, and, finally, and especially, to the participants themselves.     

Play skills taught via behavioral intervention generalize,maintain, and persist in the absence of socially mediated reinforcement in children with autism

We measured generalization, maintenance and parent reports of child happiness in the context of a behavioral intervention to teach toy-play skills to three young children with autism. Lag schedules of reinforcement were implemented for two participants whose play did not initially generalize. The play skills intervention was conducted within the participants’ early childhood classroom and the utility of teaching play as a means to reduce stereotypy within this setting was also evaluated. A multiple baseline design across participants demonstrated that play taught via behavioral intervention may be maintained after programmed reinforcement is discontinued, generalize across settings and toys (i.e., response and stimulus generalization), and occasion a decrease in stereotypy. Further, the occurrence of play in the absence of socially mediated reinforcement suggested that play taught via behavioral interventions may come to be automatically reinforced. Finally, parent responses on rating scales suggested that two of the participants were happier, in a better mood, and were more interested in appropriate toy-play following behavioral intervention.     

Teaching adolescents with severe disabilities to use the public telephone

Two adolescents with severe disabilities served as participants in a study conducted to train in the use of the public telephone to call home. Participants were trained to complete a 17-step task analysis using a training package which consisted of total task presentation in conjunction with a four-level prompting procedure (i.e., independent, verbal, verbal + gesture, verbal + guidance). All instruction took place in a public setting (e.g., a shopping mall) with generalization probes taken in two alternative settings (e.g., a movie theater and a convenience store). A multiple probe across individuals design demonstrated the training package was successful in teaching participants to use the telephone to call home. In addition, newly acquired skills generalized to the two untrained settings. Implications for community-based training are discussed.     

Effects of superimposition and background fading on the sight-word reading of a boy with autism

We used a multiple-baseline design across materials to assess the effects of stimulus superimposition and background fading on the sight-word reading skills of a 6-year-old boy with autism. Before the study began, the boy was taught to make verbal responses when shown 15 photographs of physical education activities and equipment. During baseline and teaching, probes of target words relevant to the photographs (e.g., slide, swing) were conducted in discrete-trial sessions. When teaching began, three sets of target sight words were successively superimposed on photographs of the corresponding activities and backgrounds were then faded by removing portions of the photographs until only the text was visible. After all fading steps were completed, the student correctly read 14–15 of the 15 target words and these skills maintained on a 44-day follow up probe. Further, generalization measures showed that reading skills transferred across text size and color. Superimposition and background fading quickly expanded the sight-word reading repertoire of a youngster with autism.     

Teaching children with autism using conditioned cue-value and response-marking procedures: a socially valid procedure

Five children with autism were taught to match printed words to corresponding pictures. Participants' speed of learning was compared across three training conditions, each involving a 5-s delay of reinforcement, using a within-participants alternating treatments design. In the cue-value condition, a verbal phrase of approval (e.g., "good!") was delivered only after correct responses and again after a 5-s delay when a primary reinforcer was delivered; in the response-marking condition, an attention-eliciting verbal cue (e.g., "look!") was delivered after both correct and incorrect responses, but not prior to the primary reinforcer; in the delay only condition, there were no cues during a 5-s delay. Performance in the no-cue control was inferior to both the cue-value and response-marking conditions, but there was little difference between the latter two conditions. The implications of these results for facilitating learning in applied settings are discussed.     

Effects of sociodramatic play training on children with autism

We assessed the effects of teaching sociodramatic play to three children with autism. The training was conducted using a variation of Pivotal Response Training (PRT), a program traditionally used to teach language to children with autism. Measures of play skills, social behavior, and language skills were obtained before treatment, after treatment, and at a followup period. The correlation between language and pretend play was explored, as was the relationship between sociodramatic play and social competence. Positive changes were observed in play, language, and social skills. These changes generalized across toys and settings, although little generalization to other play partners occurred. Effects of play training with children with autism and maintenance of behavior change is discussed.This research was supported by U. S. Public Health Service research grants MH39434 (Laura Schreibman, Principal Investigator) and MH28210 (Robert L. Koegel, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors thank Tami Schiern, Jay Goldschmidt, and Stacy Amano for assistance in data collection and reliability; Karen Pierce and Doug Anderson for reviewing an earlier draft of the paper, and in particular the families and teachers who participated in the project.     

Interventions to improve communication in autism

Children with autism benefit from intensive, early intervention that focuses on increasing the frequency, form, and function of communicative acts. Available evidence shows that highly structured behavioral methods have important positive consequences for these children, particularly in eliciting first words. However, the limitation of these methods in maintenance and generalization of skills suggests that many children with autism will need to have these methods supplemented with less adult-directed activities to increase communicative initiation and carry over learned skills to new settings and communication partners. Providing opportunities for mediated peer interactions with trained peers in natural settings seems to be especially important in maximizing the effects of this intervention.     

Parent training: acquisition and generalization of discrete trials teaching skills with parents of children with autism

This study examined the effects of an intensive parent training program on the acquisition and generalization of discrete trial teaching (DTT) procedures with two parents of children with autism. Over the course of the program, parents applied the DTT procedures to teach four different functional skills to their children, which allowed for an assessment of "free" and programmed generalization across stimulus exemplars. Parent training was conducted by the first author utilizing instructions, demonstrations, role-play, and practice with feedback. Parents' use of DTT skills and children's correct and incorrect responding were measured. A within-subject multiple-baseline across stimulus exemplars (functional skills taught) design was employed both to demonstrate control of the training program over parents' correct use of DTT, and to allow a preliminary investigation of the generalized effects of training to multiple stimulus exemplars. Results demonstrate initial control of the training program over parent responding, and the extent to which each parent extended her use of DTT procedures across untrained and topographically different child skills. The potential for designing more generalizable and thus more cost-effective parent training programs is discussed.     

Language intervention and disruptive behavior in preschool children with autism

Disruptive behaviors are often exhibited by children with severe disabilities during difficult teaching tasks. Because learning verbal communication can be a difficult task for nonverbal children with autism, disruptive behaviors are common during such interventions. The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether the incorporation of parameters of natural language interactions and motivational techniques might reduce disruptive behavior during language teaching tasks. Within a repeated reversals design with order of conditions and number of sessions varied within and across children, treatment was conducted for two language teaching conditions. During one condition trials were presented serially in a traditional analog clinical format where the therapist presented instructions, prompts, and reinforcers for correct responses. The other condition incorporated parameters of natural language interactions and motivational techniques, such that stimulus items were functional and varied; natural reinforcers were employed; communicative attempts were reinforced; and trials were conducted within a natural interchange. Results showed that greater improvements in responding and considerably less (often negligible) disruptive behavior occurred during the natural language teaching conditions. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for improving language interventions, and with respect to reducing disruptive behavior without the need for specialized or severe interventions focused specifically on the disruptive behavior.     

Teaching Children with Autism when Reward is Delayed. The Effects of Two Kinds of Marking Stimuli

Three children with autism were taught to identify pictures of emotions in response to their spoken names. Their speed of acquisition was compared using a within-child alternating treatments design across three teaching conditions, each involving a 5 second delay to reinforcement. In the marked-before condition, an instruction encouraged the children to visually orient to the cards before they made their choice response; in the marked-after condition, an attention-eliciting verbal cue (e.g., “Look!”) was delivered after both correct and incorrect responses; in the delay condition, these marking cues were omitted. Performance in the no-cue control was inferior to both the marked-before and marked-after conditions, but the difference between the latter two conditions was not significant.     

Group teaching of conversational skills to adolescents on the autism spectrum

Adolescents with autism struggle with developing meaningful social relationships. Learning appropriate conversational skills can be an important first step in creating friendships. A procedure that has been effective in teaching conversational skills to typically developing adolescents is the teaching interaction procedure, which involves describing the target behavior, why it should be used, when it should be used, and the steps in the skill, modeling the behavior, and having the learner role-play. Throughout the teaching process, feedback is given to the adolescent. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the teaching interaction procedure could be used to teach adolescents with autism conversational skills in a group setting. Five children, four on the autism spectrum and one with ADHD, were taught conversational basics, how to give positive feedback to a speaker, and how to answer and ask open-ended questions. A multiple-probe design across behaviors and replicated across participants revealed that four of the five participants mastered all three conversational skills, while the fifth participant mastered two of the skills. While no participants fully generalized the skills to interactions with a typical peer, participants showed some generalization to those interactions.     

Sibling self-management: Programming for generalization to improve interactions between typically developing siblings and children with autism spectrum disorders

The present study taught typically developing (TD) siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) social-communicative and self-management skills. The authors’ hypothesized that the acquisition of self-management skills would support generalization of targeted social-communicative responses. A multiple baseline probe design across sibling dyads was used to decrease exposure to unnecessary sessions in the absence of intervention. Four TD siblings were taught self-management of a social skills curriculum using behavioral skills training, which consisted of instructions, modeling, practice, and subsequent feedback. Results indicated that TD siblings learned to self-manage the social skills curriculum with some generalization across novel settings and over time. Comparisons of social-communicative responses to their typical peers provided some support for the social validity of the intervention outcomes. These results support the use of self-management, when explicitly programming for generalization, which continues to be a key consideration when including TD siblings in interventions with their siblings with ASD.     

Generalized reduction of problem behavior of young children with autism: building trans-situational interventions

The effects of functional communication training on the generalized reduction of problem behavior with three 4- to 5-year-old children with autism and problem behavior were evaluated. Participants were assessed in primary teaching settings and in three secondary, generalization settings. Through baseline analysis, lower effort interventions in the secondary settings were documented as ineffective when implemented alone. Higher effort interventions incorporating functional communication training were documented within a multiple baseline design to reduce problem behavior in the primary setting, but not in secondary settings until the lower effort interventions were re-introduced. Results demonstrate the need for trans-situational interventions based on a common functional assessment hypothesis across settings and including intensive interventions that enhance the effects of lower intensity interventions.     

Toilet training and behaviors of people with autism: Parent views

Individuals with autism often present with toileting problems, yet there is little information about the nature of these problems. This investigation surveyed 100 parents of people with autism of a mean age of 19.5 years. Results indicated that lower cognition and lower verbal levels were significantly correlated with age of accomplishment of bowel and urine training; some subjects were not trained at the time of the study. The average duration of urine training was 1.6 years, bowel training 2.1 years. On the average, training started more than 21/2 years before the average age of diagnosis of autism. Fifty-six percent of the sample had to be taught to self-initiate, 42% were taught to ask to use the toilet, and 49% were taught using a schedule. Reinforcement was used by 78% of the parents of males and by 100% of the parents of females. Punishment, primarily scolding was used by 37% of the parents. The most common problems reported were urinating in places other than the toilet, constipation, stuffing up toilets, continually flushing, or smearing feces. More fears related to toileting were noted for verbal subjects.We thank Susan K. Gray who helped with the survey questions, and Jan E. Hendrix who conducted the pilot study.