A randomized control trial comparing two social-communication interventions in young children with autism examined far-transfer of the use of picture exchange to communicate. Thirty-six children were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, one of which was the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). All children had access to…

This study used a single-subject multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of a modified picture exchange communication system (PECS) teaching protocol with tactile symbols. Three students (two male, one female) aged 12-17 years who had autism and were blind participated in the study. The instructional program…

Expressive communication of Australian and Taiwanese children with autism who had limited spoken language was observed in naturalistic settings. Communicative forms, functions, and partners were investigated. No significant differences existed in the characteristics of expressive communication between children with speech and those without speech.…

Three nonspeaking children with autism who had used facilitated communication were evaluated with four experimentally controlled tasks. Findings suggested a generalized language deficit, rather than isolated word-finding or perceptual difficulties, and were consistent with previous studies revealing facilitator cuing. Questions are raised about…

Facilitated communication (FC) as an augmentative or alternative communication system was evaluated with 14 students having autism. At the end of 10 weeks of instruction, no participants were able to produce functional, typed communication, thereby failing to support the cause-effect relationship proposed by FC proponents. (DB)

This study of an adolescent with multiple disabilities, including moderate mental retardation, who was reported to engage in validated facilitated communication (FC) found he did not engage in validated FC; performance was equivalent whether food or nonfood reinforcers were used; and the Picture Exchange Communication System was a valid and…

Potential individual variations in the effectiveness of facilitated communication (FC) were examined with 20 students with autism and related disorders. Use of multiple methods (including auditory or visual input, simple point responses, and typing) provided no clear support for validity of FC over students' independent communication. Increased…