ERIC Number: EJ1468842
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3432
Available Date: 2024-04-13
"EMT en Español Para Autismo:" A Collaborative Communication Intervention Approach and Single Case Design Pilot Study
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v55 n5 p1770-1787 2025
The primary purpose of the current pilot study was to test the effects of an adapted and collaborative intervention model with a systematic teaching approach on Latina Spanish-speaking caregivers' use of "EMT en Español Para Autismo" strategies with their young children on the autism spectrum. A multiple baseline across behaviors single case design was replicated across two dyads. A series of family interviews and a direct therapist-child intervention phase supported individualization of the intervention. Families were provided speech generating devices as part of their children's intervention protocol. Caregivers were taught to use "EMT en Español Para Autismo" strategies with aided language input. Strategies included contingent target-level and proximal target-level language modeling, linguistic expansions, and communication elicitations. Secondary variables measured included generalization of strategy use to unsupported interactions and at a 2-month follow-up, child communication outcomes, and social validity. There was a strong functional relation for one dyad between the adapted and collaborative intervention and caregiver use of EMT strategies. The functional relation was weakened by behavioral covariation for the other dyad. Children increased the quantity and diversity of their communication during the study. Caregivers generalized their use of most EMT strategies and reported most aspects of the approach to be socially valid. The current study provides an initial demonstration of an effective model for adaptation and individualization of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for Latino Spanish-speaking families with children on the autism spectrum.
Descriptors: Hispanic Americans, Child Caregivers, Caregiver Child Relationship, Language Acquisition, Early Intervention, Child Language, Early Childhood Education, Spanish, Teaching Methods, Communication Skills, Models, Milieu Therapy, Autism Spectrum Disorders
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Department of Special Education, Nashville, USA; 2University of South Florida, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Tampa, USA