Modifying a naturalistic language intervention for use in an elementary school classroom

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Evaluated a modified naturalistic language intervention (NLI) for elementary-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual disability (ID).
• Extended previous NLI findings in preschool children with social communication delays.
• Focused on children with pre-intervention profiles similar to a non-responder in prior research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of a modified NLI in increasing expressive communication (e.g., two-word phrases) in elementary-aged children with ASD and/or ID.
• To investigate the impact of varying intervention dosages on treatment outcomes.
• To extend NLI research to a new participant group in a classroom setting.

Main Methods:

• Employed a multiple probe design across children in a public school classroom setting.
• Administered a modified NLI targeting expanded expressive communication.
• Analyzed intervention dosage variations through graphing for formative analysis.

Main Results:

• All three participants demonstrated increased target behaviors compared to baseline probes.
• One child exhibited variable consistency in behavioral changes, potentially limiting social significance.
• Intervention dosage variations were observed across sessions and participants.

Conclusions:

• The modified NLI shows promise for enhancing communication in minimally verbal children with ASD and ID in dynamic educational settings.
• Naturalistic procedures can be leveraged by educators to promote verbalizations during activities for children with communication delays.
• Further research is needed to optimize NLI dosage for consistent social significance in diverse learners.