Recent research has developed methods of assessing the function of generic, nonindividualized social interactions. The purpose of this type of assessment is to provide a measure of how an individual may respond to the types of interactions readily available in the natural environment. To date, no research has evaluated how the social time…

Successful conversation requires that the speaker's behavior is sensitive to nonvocal listener responses. We observed children with autism spectrum disorder during conversation probes in which a listener periodically displayed nonvocal cues that she was uninterested in the conversation. We used behavioral skills training to teach conversation…

Three mentally retarded students (ages 9-12) who exhibited challenging behaviors to escape from academic demands and to receive social attention were taught alternative assistance-seeking and attention-getting phrases. Data indicated that the intervention reduced challenging behavior. The results transferred across settings, and were maintained 18…

This study evaluated effects of a multifaceted training procedure on acquisition and generalization of social behaviors of 9 language-disabled deaf children (ages 8-9). The intervention involved child training as well as supervision, feedback, and goal setting by teachers and staff. Results indicated increases in appropriate target behaviors which…