An Evaluation of Positional Prompts for Teaching Receptive Identification to Individuals Diagnosed with Autism...

In this study, we evaluated the effects of positional prompts on teaching receptive identification to six children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The researchers implemented a most-to-least prompting system using a three level hierarchy to teach receptive picture identification. Within the prompting hierarchy, only positional prompts were used. The most assistive prompt was placing the target stimulus 12 in. closer to the participant, the less assistive prompt was placing the target stimulus 6 in. closer to the participant, and no prompt was placing the target stimulus in line with the alternative stimuli. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the positional prompt. Results indicated that the implementation of positional prompts resulted in participants reaching mastery criterion and maintaining skills at follow-up for the majority of the participants. The results of the study have both future clinical and research implications.