ACQUISITION OF SIGN LANGUAGE BY AUTISTIC CHILDREN. I: EXPRESSIVE LABELLING

There has been growing interest in teaching sign language to autistic children who have failed to develop speech. However, controlled experimentation in this area is nonexistent. In the present study, four nonverbal autistic children were taught expressive sign labels for common objects, using a training procedure that consisted of prompting, fading, and stimulus rotation. The efficacy of the procedure was demonstrated in a multiple-baseline design across objects. The results were reliable, replicable across children, and generalizable across therapists. A stimulus control analysis demonstrated that, for three of the children, correct signing was controlled solely by the visual cues associated with the presentation of a given object and was independent of the auditory cues related to the same object. These latter results are discussed with respect to the known perceptual and linguistic deficits of autistic children.     

A MODIFIED INCIDENTAL-TEACHING PROCEDURE FOR AUTISTIC YOUTH: ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF RECEPTIVE OBJECT LABELS

A modified incidental-teaching procedure was used to increase the receptive language skills of autistic youth who had previously experienced lengthy institutionalization. At the time of the study, the two severely language-delayed children had recently been transitioned to a community-based group home. Receptive-labeling skills were taught for four sets of objects typically used in school lunch preparation. The percentage of correct, unprompted object identifications displayed by Youth 1 increased when the incidental-teaching package (gestural prompts, behavior-specific praise, and contingent access to lunch-making supplies) was sequentially introduced in a multiple-baseline design across sets of objects. These results were replicated with Youth 2. The youths' newly acquired language skills also generalized to a different setting (the dining room of the group home) and to a different activity occurring later in the day (a traditional sit-down, discrete-trial session). This research indicates that the linguistic skills of severely developmentally delayed autistic children can be accelerated by incidental instruction that is provided in the course of shaping other home-living skills.     

THE FACILITATIVE EFFECTS OF INCIDENTAL TEACHING ON PREPOSITION USE BY AUTISTIC CHILDREN

In a comparison of incidental teaching and traditional training procedures, three language-delayed autistic children were taught expressive use of prepositions to describe the location of preferred edibles and toys. Traditional highly structured training and incidental teaching procedures were used in a classroom setting, and generalization was assessed during free-play sessions. Results clearly indicate that incidental teaching promoted greater generalization and more spontaneous use of prepositions. These findings have important implications for language programming and teacher training, suggesting that incidental teaching should be included as a standard component of language development curricula for autistic and other developmentally delayed children.     

ACQUISITION,GENERALIZATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF QUESTION-ANSWERING SKILLS IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN

We conducted an investigation to evaluate the effects of a training strategy for teaching autistic students generalized responses to three forms of wh— questions (what, how, and why). Students were taught, using modeling and reinforcement procedures, to answer questions with magazine pictures as the referents. Each question form was divided into two or more subcomponents reflective of common social usage and was taught within the context of a modified multiple probe design across subcomponents. Following acquisition of each subcomponent, generalization to natural context and storybook questions was assessed; additional probes were conducted to assess responding over time and whether acquisition of responses to questions promoted question-asking skills. Results showed that the picture training procedure was effective in teaching a generalized response to questions for which the relevant cue was visible, whereas specific generalization programming was required for situations in which the relevant cue was not visible. All acquired responses were durable over time.     

ACQUISITION OF EXPRESSIVE SIGNING BY AUTISTIC CHILDREN: AN EVALUATION OF THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF SIMULTANEOUS COMMUNICATION AND SIGN-ALONE TRAINING

Two methods of training autistic children to use manual signs were compared. Two children, one mute and one capable of some verbal imitation, were taught to use signs as expressive labels for pictures of objects. Using an alternating treatments design, speed of sign acquisition was compared across two training conditions in which signs were presented either accompanied by, or without, the corresponding verbal label. In both conditions, the training procedure incorporated reinforcement, modeling, prompting, fading, and stimulus rotation. The efficacy of training in both treatment conditions was demonstrated by the use of a multiple baseline control across signs, but no clear differences in acquisition speed across conditions were apparent. Posttests conducted to assess stimulus control of signing, and learning of verbal labels when these were present in training, showed that the behavior of the imitative, but not the mute, child was controlled by the verbal stimuli. The implications of the results both for understanding deficits characteristic of autistic children and for developing appropriate language training procedures are discussed.     

TIME DELAY: A TECHNIQUE TO INCREASE LANGUAGE USE AND FACILITATE GENERALIZATION IN RETARDED CHILDREN

Institutional breakfast-serving procedures were manipulated to assess what effect changes in that aspect of the environment would have on requests for food. During baseline, six severely retarded children were required to pick up their food trays and return to their seats. The first manipulation, delaying the giving of the food tray for 15 seconds, served as a cue to evoke meal requests by three of the six children. Two of the remaining three required a model of an appropriate meal request (i.e., “Tray, please.”) at the end of the 15-second delay before they began requesting their meals. To evoke meal requests from the sixth child, an intensive training procedure, consisting of massed trials of delay and modeling, was required. Three different probes were administered to assess generalization across the people serving the meals, across mealtimes, and across both people and mealtimes. Typically, generalized responding in these new situations could be prompted by use of the 15-second delay procedure. Functional aspects of the delay procedure and its potential usefulness for evoking speech and facilitating generalization are discussed.     

A PROGRAM FOR INCREASING MANUAL SIGNING BY AUTISTIC AND PROFOUNDLY RETARDED YOUTH WITHIN THE DAILY ENVIRONMENT

A program was implemented to increase the manual signing of five profoundly retarded and four autistic youth within their daily environment. Each participant was nonvocal or minimally vocal. The program was based on modified incidental teaching strategies and was implemented by direct care personnel under supervision in an institutional setting. Specific components included rearranging the physical environment to prompt signing, altering routine staff-resident interactions to prompt, manually guide and/or reinforce signing; and conducting mini-training sessions. Additionally, staff modeled signs intermittently throughout the day. The program was sequentially implemented during two staff work shifts on each of two resident living modules. Observations conducted at four separate time periods during the day indicated that significant increases in signing occurred for all participating youth and that the increases generally maintained during follow-up checks at 5 and 17 weeks. Differential effects of the increased signing on frequency of vocalizations were noted across residents. A staff acceptability survey indicated favorable staff reports on the usefulness of signing to communicate with the youth. Results are discussed regarding the significance of manual signing for seriously developmentally disabled persons and the importance of ensuring that signing skills are used in the daily environment and not exclusively in formal training sessions. Also, areas for continued research are noted in terms of more refined analyses of client skills and subsequent progress in manual communication programs.     

THE EFFECTS OF ECHOLALIA ON ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF RECEPTIVE LABELING IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN

This investigation, consisting of two experiments, was designed to assess the effects of autistic immediate echolalia on acquisition and generalization of receptive labeling tasks. Experiment 1 addressed whether autistic children could use their echolalia to facilitate acquisition. The results indicated that incorporating echolalia (echo of the requested object's label) into the task before manual response (handing the requested object to the experimenter) facilitated receptive labeling. Experiment 2 was designed to determine the effects of incorporating echolalia into task response on acquisition and subsequent generalization. These results indicated that echolalia facilitated generalization for echolalic autistic children but not for functionally mute autistic children. The results of the experiments are discussed in terms of stimulus control. Additionally, it is proposed that perhaps in certain cases, echolalia should not be eliminated, but used to advantage in receptive responding.     

GENERALIZATION BY AUTISTIC-TYPE CHILDREN OF VERBAL RESPONSES ACROSS SETTINGS

Generalization of verbal behavior by autistic-type children across physically different settings was assessed. Four boys learned responses to common questions in two settings at school and were probed to determine transfer of learning to home. Three of the children demonstrated little generalization to home when trained in a cubicle. Greater generalization was indicated when they received training at varied locations. The fourth child generalized most responses to his home regardless of training setting. Simple manipulations of the school environment to more closely simulate home conditions may facilitate transfer of training to the natural environment.     

ACQUISITION AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF MANDING WITH AUTISTIC STUDENTS

Three autistic students were trained to request a specific object from an adult “supplier” with the sentence, “Give me —” and to deliver that object to another adult, the “director.” Subsequently, the degree to which the object offered by the supplier controlled the “Give me —” verbal response was assessed by delivering to the student an object other than the one requested. Despite knowing the names of all objects used in the experiment, students accepted and delivered to the director any object offered by the supplier regardless of its match with the requested object. After training to say “That's not it. Give me —” when nonrequested objects were offered, students responded differentially to requested and nonrequested objects, suggesting control of the “Give me —” response by the requested object, a characteristic of a mand. These results generalized across settings and objects. Results are discussed in terms of the training technique to establish manding and the functional analysis of the resulting verbal behavior.     

BEHAVIORAL TRAINING FOR SIBLINGS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a program designed to teach behavior modification procedures to normal siblings of autistic children. Three sibling pairs participated in a multiple-baseline analysis of the effects of training the normal siblings to use behavior modification procedures to teach their autistic brother or sister a variety of learning tasks. Results indicated that the siblings learned to use the behavioral procedures at a high level of proficiency, they used the procedures in a generalization setting, and there were observed improvements in the behavior of the autistic children. In addition, a social validation assessment of the normal siblings' statements about their autistic sibling indicated a decrease in negative statements and an increase in positive statements after training. These results are discussed in terms of the potential for incorporating siblings into the treatment plan in intervention programs with autistic children.     

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT ON THE GENERALIZATION OF A REPLACEMENT MAND IN THREE CHILDREN WITH SEVERE LANGUAGE DELAYS

We investigated variables that may influence the generalization of a replacement mand in 3 young children with severe language delays. A multiple baseline design consisting of one stimulus class of manding opportunities that we arbitrarily divided into three categories (i.e., food, toys, and events) was used for each child. During baseline probes, all children manded mainly by reaching, grabbing, or leading. We then taught each child a replacement mand using a single member of the stimulus class. Acquisition of the replacement mand occurred under highly restricted conditions in a setting that was completely isolated from the generalization settings. Postacquisition probes revealed almost exclusive use of old manding forms. Subsequently, extinction of the old forms and reinforcement of the replacement mand were introduced in a sequential fashion. Two children manifested a substantial increase, and 1 child displayed a moderate increase in the occurrence of the replacement mand (i.e., generalization occurred). These results suggest that a differential reinforcement procedure can alter the probability of the occurrence of response class members across a variety of stimulus conditions.     

ACQUISITION AND CROSS-SETTING GENERALIZATION OF MANUAL SIGNS WITH SEVERELY RETARDED INDIVIDUALS

In this study, we assessed the effect of a transfer of stimulus control procedure on the acquisition and cross-setting generalization of manual signs with four profoundly retarded individuals. Two individuals were trained to produce appropriate signs to verbal instructions, whereas the other two were trained until manual signs were controlled by visual stimuli (objects). Data obtained from three probe situations (two for one individual) constituted the dependent variables of the investigation. The results, gathered within a multiple-baseline design across signs showed that (a) individuals acquired the trained signs and (b) maintenance and generalization across settings (classroom, ward) and persons (teachers, ward staff) occurred, but was highly variable between and within individuals.     

ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH COMPLEX FIVE-COMPONENT INSTRUCTIONS1

A 7-yr-old bilingual boy of normal intelligence, judged by his school to be deficient in carrying out complex requests, was trained to comply with five-component instructions, e.g., “Give me/the chip/behind/the block/on blue”. Three interchangeable words or phrases were used for each component. Training proceeded in stages. First, the child was trained to identify all individual objects and actions; then to carry out requests involving only the first component, then the first two, then three, etc. On every trial, the visual setting permitted every possible response in the set. A test for generalization to nonreinforced instructions was given at each stage by giving no feedback for all instructions that included one preselected phrase. The phrase selected at each stage was one of the three that was introduced at that stage. As a further test for generalization, nonreinforced instructions were also given that included one additional component: the next to be trained (Probes Ahead). As a test for generalization across settings and instructions, several five-component instructions were presented each session in an unused classroom. These instructions used phrases, most of which were different from those being trained, and which referred to familiar classroom objects. Results showed: acquisition occurred for each stage of training, including the full five-component instruction; almost complete generalization of responding occurred to the subset of nonreinforced instructions; little or no generalization occurred to the Probes Ahead, where an additional untrained component was included; and little or no generalization was seen to the five-component classroom instructions, until training began on the five-component instructions in the training sessions. Performance was also examined for each component. Results showed that when a new component was introduced, correct performance to previously trained components declined, and was little if any superior to performance on the new component. In summary, transfer was found to untrained sentences of the same form as those being trained, even in another setting, where most of the components were different; but poor transfer was found to more complex sentences, and performance declined for previously trained components during training of a more complex sentence. Some features of the training procedure that may have affected the degree and form of transfer were discussed: the necessity for prior training in an appropriate response to the component phrases, the importance of intermixing of reinforced and nonreinforced trials, and the effects of the abruptness with which more complex sentence forms were introduced.     

INCREASING THE INDEPENDENT RESPONDING OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN WITH UNPREDICTABLE SUPERVISION

We investigated the role of predictable versus unpredictable supervision on the independent task responding of three autistic children. In a predictable supervision condition, the therapist was present in the setting for a regular period of time and then was absent for the remainder of the session. In an unpredictable supervision condition, the therapist's presence was scheduled on a random, intermittent, and unpredictable basis throughout the session. The multiple baseline analysis showed that the unpredictable supervision produced much higher levels of on-task responding during the therapist's absence for all three children. Analysis of work completed during the therapist's absence also favored the unpredictable supervision condition. The results are discussed in relation to the literature on generalization and educational practice.     

EFFECTS OF A MULTIFACETED TRAINING PROCEDURE ON THE ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF SOCIAL BEHAVIORS IN LANGUAGE-DISABLED DEAF CHILDREN

Effects of a multifaceted training procedure were assessed on the acquisition and generalization of social behaviors with 9 language-disabled deaf children. The training procedure consisted of (a) child training and (b) supervision, feedback, and goal setting directed by teachers and residential staff. Target behaviors were turn waiting, initiating interaction, and interacting with others. Procedures to promote generality of effects and to determine the social validity of the procedures were used. Data were collected within a multiple baseline design across behaviors. Results showed a functional relationship between introduction of the training procedure and increases in percentage of appropriate target behaviors for all 9 children. The effects were maintained throughout a 5- to 10-week follow-up period.     

IN VIVO LANGUAGE INTERVENTION: UNANTICIPATED GENERAL EFFECTS

After observing the lack of generalization of language trained in highly structured training sessions using established behavior modification techniques, “incidental teaching” procedures were developed to change the use of specified language behaviors in the natural environment. This paper reports an analysis of the general changes in the language, other than that specifically targeted by the incidental teaching procedures, used by disadvantaged preschool children. The daily language samples of disadvantaged children involved in a previously reported experiment to increase compound sentence usage were reexamined and compared to comparable records of other disadvantaged children and of middle-class children of college parents in order to assess possible general effects of the intervention program. Whereas the language that both groups of comparison children used changed little across the preschool year, the amount of talking by the children in the experimental program increased markedly. Their use of more elaborate vocabulary and more elaborate sentences also increased in direct proportion to the increases in overall language use, such that both language use and language elaboration in the experimental group of children changed from a pattern similar to the comparison group of disadvantaged children to a pattern similar to the comparison group of middle-class children. It is argued that some general features of the incidental teaching procedure—differentially attending to child overtures and responding relative to the child's selected topic (reinforcer)—contributed to the increase in overall language use beyond the specific language behavior targeted, and that this increase in the probability of children's talking itself resulted in the substantial increases in elaboration seen in the children's spontaneous language. Because, at least in children with fairly well-developed language repertoires, language use is contextually controlled, talking more involves talking in more varied and complex contexts, which inevitably produces the use of more elaborate language.     

AN EXTENSION OF INCIDENTAL TEACHING PROCEDURES TO READING INSTRUCTION FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN

In an extension of incidental teaching procedures to reading instruction, two autistic children acquired functional sight-word reading skills in the context of a play activity. Children gained access to preferred toys by selecting the label of the toy in tasks requiring increasingly complex visual discriminations. In addition to demonstrating rapid acquisition of 5-choice discriminations, they showed comprehension on probes requiring reading skills to locate toys stored in labeled boxes. Also examined was postteaching transfer across stimulus materials and response modalities. Implications are that extensions of incidental teaching to new response classes may produce the same benefits documented in communication training, in terms of producing generalization concurrent with skill acquisition in the course of child-preferred activities.     

ASSESSING AND TRAINING TEACHERS IN THE GENERAUZED USE OF BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION WITH AUTISTIC CHILDREN1

This study investigated the feasibility of developing reliable, valid criteria for measuring and training the skills necessary to teach autistic children. The behaviors of 11 teachers and 12 autistic children were recorded in a series of different teaching situations. Teacher-training was initiated at different times for different teachers. The results showed: (1) it was possible to assess empirically whether a teacher was correctly using defined behavior-modification techniques; (2) generally, for any given session, systematic improvement in the child's behavior did not occur unless the teacher working in that session had been trained to use the techniques to a high criterion; (3) all 11 teachers were rapidly trained to use these techniques; and (4) the teachers learned generalized skills effective with a variety of children and target behaviors.     

TRAINING MILDLY HANDICAPPED PEERS TO FACILITATE CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL INTERACTION SKILLS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

We evaluated the effects of a peer-training strategy, consisting of direct prompting and modeling, on the occurrence and duration of interactions between autistic students and nonautistic peer-trainers. Data were obtained in both training and generalization settings. The results of a multiple-baseline design across students demonstrated that: (a) the direct prompting procedure produced immediate and substantial increases in the occurrences and durations of positive social interactions between the peer-trainers and autistic students; (b) these increases were maintained across time at levels above baseline during subsequent free-play probes; (c) these findings were judged by teachers to be socially valid; (d) untrained peers increased their interactions with the autistic students in three of the four groups; (e) generalization of behavior change across settings occurred only after specific programming; and (f) interactions between untrained peers and peer-trainers decreased following training. Variables that may account for the results and the implications of these findings for peer-mediated interventions are discussed.