Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) refers to a wide range of aided and unaided modes that are employed with a diverse group of people to support a range of language and communication outcomes. Children whose comprehension of spoken language greatly exceeds their ability to express themselves within that modality can be described as…

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…

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…

Children with autism often do not learn to mand for information without structured teaching. Studies have demonstrated that manipulation of establishing operations (EOs), prompts, prompt fading, and differential reinforcement are effective in teaching children with autism to ask "wh" questions such as "what," "who," and "where." To date, no…

THE STUDY INVESTIGATED SOME OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN A CHILD'S VERBAL BEHAVIOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS NECESSARY IN ACQUIRING LANGUAGE. TWO TRAINABLE RETARDATES (FROM A GROUP OF SIX, AGED 3-6 TO 5) WITH A FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY OF NO MORE THAN TWO OR THREE WORDS WERE SEEN INDIVIDUALLY IN 20- TO 30-MINUTE SESSIONS TWICE A WEEK DURING A 4-MONTH…

The paper provides an overview of a prelanguage program that was developed for a low functioning, 7 1/2-year-old congenitally deaf-blind child. It is explained that the program was based on principles and procedures as they related to operant behaviors, that reinforcement techniques were continually applied, and that a great deal of successive…

In Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, three categories of environmental control over instances of verbal behavior appear to be relevant to the study of infant vocal development: the mand, the tact, and the echoic categories. Procedures used in the remediation of language deficiencies and procedures found in work in the area of language…

The author reviews studies in which operant training techniques were used to develop and remediate the speech and language skills of vocal imitation, functional speech, generative speech, and generalized speech usage in autistic, severely retarded, echolalic, and other nonverbal Ss. (LC)

Selected principles and procedures related to language training for nonverbal children are presented. The participating children are 3 to 6 years of age and are enrolled at a clinic for a minimal of 3 hours of individual therapy a week. The language problems vary considerably. The possibility of some central nervous system dysfunction is thought…

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.…

Focusing on the education of the autistic child as an awakening process, the book discusses the role of meaningful human communication and reports a research program which applied a therapeutic educational technique. The development of language in children, the diagnosis of an autistic child, autistic behavior and sensory and emotional…