Teaching of labels: an analysis of concrete and pictorial representations

The relationship between the use of concrete objects and pictorial representations of those objects when teaching noun labels to 3 autistic boys was analyzed. A multiple baseline design, counterbalanced for the type of stimulus presentation, was used to teach four sets of five objects and their pictorial representations to the youngsters. Although results indicated no consistent functional relationship between the two types of stimulus presentation, there were varying degrees of generalization between the two conditions. Findings suggest that there is a need to facilitate greater and more consistent generalization from pictures to the realities they represent.