Computer-based sorting-to-matching in identity matching for young children with developmental disabilities

We evaluated a computer-based sorting-to-matching procedure to teach matching-to-sample skills to seven young children with developmental disabilities who had failed to demonstrate identity matching-to-sample under the typical training procedure (such as observing a sample then selecting a comparison stimulus). In the sorting-to-matching procedure, rather than clicking on a comparison stimulus, the children moved the sample stimulus under the identical comparison stimulus. For all the children, identity matching-to-sample accuracy rapidly increased when the sorting-to-matching procedure was introduced, while it remained at chance levels in the typical training procedure. One of seven children showed collateral gains in accuracy with the typical training procedure after the exposure to the sorting-to-matching procedure.