Naturalistic teaching approach to develop spontaneous vocalizations and augmented communication in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBI) have been shown to facilitate the development of spontaneous language in individuals with speech and language impairment. Several meta-analyses have reported a small number of studies that utilized naturalistic teaching approaches combined with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions to develop requesting skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine whether a natural language paradigm (NLP) and time delay is effective in expanding vocal and augmented requesting skills in three children with ASD between the ages of 4 and 6 years. A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The results of the study demonstrated that the participants were successful in emitting vocal requests when both modalities were available and NLP combined with time delay was effective in increasing spontaneous vocal requests in all participants.

Transitioning from a low- to high-tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system: effects on augmented and vocal requesting.

A considerable number of studies have demonstrated that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is effective in increasing speech production in some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thus, this study aimed to (a) investigate the effects of a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Phase IV protocol on the acquisition of spontaneous augmented requests, (b) evaluate the impact of progressive time delay and synthetic speech output on the development of vocal requests, and (c) determine the participants' preferences for each modality after reaching mastery. A multiple-baseline design across four children with ASD was used to measure the acquisition of augmented and vocal requests during the transition from low-tech to high-tech AAC systems. During a natural condition (i.e., playtime), a modified PECS Phase IV protocol was applied to teach the participants to request by producing multisymbol messages (e.g., I WANT + names of a preferred item) using an iPad as well as vocalizations. After mastery, the participants' preference for using the modified PECS Phase IV app or the communication book was assessed by comparing the response allocations. The preliminary results suggest that the modified PECS protocol can be used to transition from a low- to high-tech communication modality.

Backward chaining and speech-output technologies to enhance functional communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities.

Behavioral intervention packages in combination with speech output technologies have been utilized to develop communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. The current study aimed to extend previous research (Gevarter et al.; Gevarter & Horan) by examining the effects of backward chaining in combination with least-to-most prompting, time delay, and differential reinforcement on the acquisition of functional communication skills. A multiple probe across participants design was used embedded with a changing criterion design. For the study, three male children with ASD or developmental disabilities and minimal vocal communication skills participated. The results indicated that the intervention was effective in increasing both iPad1©-based and vocal requesting of all participants, two of whom were able to maintain vocal requesting after the termination of intervention. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities to perform multistep requesting using an iPad.

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or developmental disabilities are unable to meet their daily communication needs with speech alone. These individuals are considered potential candidates for speech-generating devices (SGDs) and mobile technologies with AAC-specific applications. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of systematic instruction on teaching multistep requesting skills using an iPad loaded with Proloquo2Go to children with ASD and other developmental disabilities. The participants in this study were four children between the ages of 8 and 10 years diagnosed with ASD and/or other developmental disabilities. The results indicated that for these participants, the intervention was effective in increasing multistep requesting using the iPad. All participants were successful to varying degrees in navigating across pages and combining symbols to request preferred items. Additionally, the participants demonstrated generalization of newly acquired skills by requesting different preferred items and activities during the generalization probes. Results are discussed and implications for research and practice are presented.

Comparing the Effect of Echoic and Listener Responding in the Development of Complex Intraverbals.

This study aimed to compare the effects of echoic and listener responding in the emergence of complex intraverbal behavior in four children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Each participant was taught to provide an echoic response or a listener response for different discriminative stimuli for each condition. We used a nonconcurrent multiple probe design across participants and adapted an alternating treatment design to compare the effects between the two conditions. Pre- and posttests were used to evaluate the effects of the two different prompt types in the emergence of complex intraverbals. The results indicate that the echoic response was more effective than the listener response at increasing the emergence of complex intraverbal responses in three out of four participants.

Evaluation of the Effects of the Stimulus-Pairing Observation Procedure and Match to Sample on the Emergence of Listener Responses in Children with Autism.

I investigated the effects of the stimulus-pairing observation procedure (SPOP) in conjunction with match-to-sample (MTS) training to establish untrained listener responses in three young children with autism spectrum disorder. I evaluated MTS training and the SPOP within a multiple-probe across-participants design. I conducted posttest probes across five-stimulus set after participants' exposure to MTS training and the SPOP to test for untrained listener responses. The participants demonstrated emergent untrained responses during the posttest probes and maintained untrained listener responses 3 weeks postmastery.

The Impact of an Intraverbal Webbing Procedure on the Emergence of Advanced Intraverbal Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study investigates the effects of an intraverbal webbing procedure on the development of divergent and convergent intraverbal responses in 3 children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 4 and 7 years using a multiple-probe across-participants design. The participants were taught to list several members of a category (e.g., kitchen item, furniture) with a specific feature (e.g., handle, door) and to respond to fill-in-the-blank statements regarding the function, feature, and class of several item. Probes were conducted frequently to assess the emergence of untrained complex intraverbal responses. The results indicate that the intraverbal webbing procedure is effective for the acquisition of trained verbal responses to fill-in-the-blank statements. In addition, the emergence of convergent and divergent multiply controlled intraverbal responses was observed across untrained categories (e.g., school item, clothes).

The Effects of Systematic Instruction in Teaching Multistep Social-Communication Skills to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using an iPad.

Objective: Tablets have successfully been used with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities to request preferred items, label objects, share information, and engage in social interactions. However, there are limited data on the efficacy of utilizing such devices to teach multistep social-communication skills. Method: We used nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across behaviors to examine the effectiveness of systematic instruction on teaching multistep social-communication skills using an iPad® loaded with Proloquo2Go™. Three children between the ages of 7 and 10 years diagnosed with ASD and other developmental disabilities participated in the study. Results: To varying degrees, the participants were successful in using the iPad® to perform a multistep sequence in requesting, saying "thank you," and answering personal questions. Procedural modifications were made during the intervention phase for two participants so that they were able to acquire social-communication skills using AAC. Conclusions: The findings indicate that systematic instruction is effective in developing advanced social-communication skills.