Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to mand for information using "which?"

Area of Science:

• Behavioral science
• Developmental psychology
• Autism spectrum disorder research

Background:

• Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face challenges with spontaneous language and requesting items.
• Effective teaching strategies are crucial for developing functional communication skills in children with ASD.
• The 'mand' is a verbal operant that requests desired items or actions, crucial for early language development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a procedure for teaching children with autism to mand "which?"
• To assess the effectiveness of preference assessments, prompting, and establishing operations in teaching mands.
• To examine the generalization and maintenance of the "which?" mand in children with autism.

Main Methods:

• A modified multiple baseline design across three participants was employed.
• The procedure included preference assessments, prompting, contrived conditioned establishing operations, and differential reinforcement.
• Data were collected on the participants' ability to mand "which?" in various settings.

Main Results:

• All three participants successfully learned to mand "which?" following the intervention.
• The learned skill generalized to the natural environment, a novel activity, and a novel container.
• The acquired skill demonstrated maintenance over time, indicating lasting effects of the intervention.

Conclusions:

• The evaluated procedure is effective for teaching the "which?" mand to children with autism.
• The findings support the use of preference assessments and establishing operations in communication training for ASD.
• The generalization and maintenance of the mand suggest the procedure promotes functional and durable language skills.