The purpose of the current paper is to describe the impact of applied behaviour analysis on language treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) diagnoses. Specifically, this paper will describe Skinner's theory of verbal behaviour and its contributions to evidence-based treatments for communication deficits among individuals with…

The current investigation evaluated repertoires that may be related to performance on auditory-to-visual conditional discrimination training with 9 students who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The skills included in the assessment were matching, imitation, scanning, an auditory discrimination, and a visual discrimination. The…

A literature review was conducted to describe important concepts involved in functional analysis of verbal behavior as well as to evaluate empirical research findings on acquisition of picture exchange-based vs. signed mands to suggest instructional implications for teachers and therapists to teach functional communication skills to children with…

A skill essential for successful inclusion in general education settings is the ability to learn by observing others. Research, however, has documented children with autism display significant deficits in the fundamental skills necessary for observational learning. This article outlines the skills essential for observational learning from an…

Social referencing, a form of nonverbal communication, involves seeking out discriminative stimuli provided by others about contingencies in an ambiguous context in order to respond in a manner that produces reinforcement. Although demonstrated by typically developing infants, social referencing is notably absent or impaired in individuals with…

Children with autism and related disabilities frequently fail to develop echoic repertoires. Among the ways in which treatment approaches vary is the extent to which automatic reinforcement is utilized. The present experiment was designed to test the efficacy of a procedure that incorporates automatic reinforcement and socially mediated…

INTENDED FOR SPEECH THERAPISTS, THEACHERS OF THE MENTALLY RETARDED, AND OTHERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, THE COLLECTION CONTAINS REPORTS BY VARIOUS AUTHORS ON SPEECH AND LANGUAGE MODIFICATION ATTEMPTS THAT HAVE UTILIZED OPERANT CONDITIONING PROCEDURES, AS WELL AS SEVERAL PAPERS ON BACKGROUND TOPICS. BACKGROUND PAPERS ON TEACHING TREAT ENVIRONMENTAL…

By watching and responding to the way a shill answered "yes-no" questions about food items, a developmentally delayed preschool boy greatly improved over his poor base-line "yes-no" answers to these same items. He was also able to give correct answers subsequently during generalization probe sessions. (PS)

Reading comprehension, indicated by motor behavior and multiple-choice picture selection called for in written instructions, was taught to an autistic child (12 years old). (Author/PT)

Two autistic boys, ages 6 and 10 years, whose imitative responding was functionally inaccurate and whose performance generalized poorly, were trained to imitate accurately using a reinforcement-extinction strategy. (DLS)

Ten schizophrenic and autistic children who exhibited self destructive, tantrum, echolalic, and self stimulatory behaviors were treated by reinforcement therapy. Reinforcement withdrawal, in the form of interpersonal isolation contingent upon self-destruction, and electrical shocks served to extinguish these behaviors in some children.…