This study investigated whether a systematic instruction package was effective in child acquisition of question answering using an iPad-based speech generating device (SGD). The study was conducted with two children with autism using a multiple probe across behaviors design. Results demonstrated that the systematic instruction package consisting…

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been widely used to teach functional requesting and commenting skills to children with autism spectrum disorder. Some researchers also modified the PECS to explore its effect on children with other disabilities. The main purpose of this study was to add tangible symbols to PECS (PECS-TS) in…

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a popular augmentative and alternative communication intervention for individuals with developmental disabilities that includes six, sequential phases of instruction. We systematically reviewed published and unpublished single-case PECS studies for details about the percentage of participants…

A lack of functional communication negatively impacts a student's academic and social-emotional success. Schools are in the position to create systems and protocols that would allow students to be taught a method to communicate functionally. This dissertation project sought to answer the question: How can early childhood students with no verbal…

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBI) have been shown to facilitate the development of spontaneous language in individuals with speech and language impairment. Several meta-analyses have reported a small number of studies that utilized naturalistic teaching approaches combined with augmentative and alternative communication…

Social-communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder often lead to undesirable outcomes in other domains, such as interpersonal relationships, employment, and participation in community activities. Parents may be ideal implementers of interventions to address these deficits when provided with instruction that is efficacious and…

Children with intellectual disabilities experience well-documented challenges in the development of problem-solving, particularly related to mathematical word-problem solving. Such challenges are related to both linguistic and conceptual skills. While interventions to assist children in developing conceptual skills are well reported, linguistic…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty generalizing newly acquired communication skills to different contexts. In this study, a multiple baseline across settings (clinic, school, and home) design was used to determine whether an 8-year-old boy with ASD could learn to approach communication partners to request…

Variations of behavioral skills training (BST) have been used to teach behaviorally oriented skills such as discrete trial teaching, guided compliance, the implementation of the picture exchange system, and safe guarding students with physical disabilities. One area that has not received much attention is evaluating school staff's correct…

There are a number of different approaches and therapies available for children, young people and adults on the autistic spectrum, and the amount of information available on each one can be daunting for professionals and parents alike. "Autism, Educational and Theoretical Approaches" offers concise and clear explanations of a variety of…

This study examined the acquisition and generalization of requesting behaviors learned through PECS with three children with autism. A single-subject multiple baseline across participants design was used to determine the effects of PECS. Results indicated that all three participants acquired PECS skills for requesting and generalized the skills…

The Office of Special Education and Student Services asked the Office of Shared Accountability to evaluate the "Facilitated Communication Pilot." In facilitated communication (FC), people with communication impairments express themselves by typing with the aid of a communication partner, called a facilitator, who provides physical (and…

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an augmentative and alternative communication program (Frost & Bondy, 2002). Although PECS has been effectively used to teach functional requesting skills for children with autism, mental retardation, visual impairment, and physical disabilities (e.g., Anderson, Moore, & Bourne, 2007; Chambers &…

The effectiveness of a behavioral skills training (BST) package to teach the implementation of the first three phases of the picture exchange communication system (PECS) was evaluated with 3 adults who had no history teaching any functional communication system. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness…

Generalization is the key to effective autism intervention--when children can apply new skills across settings, they'll make broad, long-term improvements in behavior and social communication. The first how-to guide to generalization is finally here! Practical and reader-friendly, this is the book that helps professionals take today's most popular…