People diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may need specific teaching to learn mands for information. Unfortunately, little research has been published on methods for teaching the mand "When?" to this population. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend previous research by teaching 3 children diagnosed with…

Previous research has evaluated contrived motivating operations to teach mands for information. However, literature evaluating acquisition of the mand "when?" is comparatively limited. As an extension of Shillingsburg, Bowen, Valentino, & Pierce (2014), we taught three children with autism to engage in mands for information using…

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…

Manding for preferred items and activities is a critical skill for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little research has evaluated procedures to teach children with ASD to mand with their peers. This study evaluated the effects of a teaching package involving least-to-most prompting to increase peer-directed vocal…

We investigated the effects of a script-fading and discrimination-training procedure on mand variability in preschoolers with autism. Participants were taught to vary their vocal mands in the presence of written scripts, a green placemat, and a lag schedule of reinforcement. They were also taught to engage in repetitive mands in the presence of…

Five reinforcing activities were presented to and interrupted for two participants with autism. An errorless teaching procedure was then introduced with two similar activities prompting the participants to request information saying "How?" in order to resume the activity. The dependent variable included both the cumulative number of…

This study aimed to teach individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and limited vocal speech to emit target vocalizations while using a speech-generating device (SGD). Of the 4 participants, 3 began emitting vocal word approximations with SGD responses after vocal instructional methods (delays, differential reinforcement, prompting) were…

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…

A primary purpose of the token system is to expand the operant model in order to provide a broader reinforcement base. The ten procedural considerations necessary for implementing a token system are presented. Beyond this, fundamental knowledge of operant principles remains essential in order to apply the token system correctly. (Author/KJ)

Describes a system of further structuring the discrete trial format, an approach that draws on operant conditioning principles to present standardized and consistent learning trials. A flow chart of the Standard Trial Progression and Reinforcement Hierarchy is included, and data collection approaches are suggested. (CL)

We investigated the benefits of using a virtual laboratory, Sniffy Lite CD-ROM (Alloway, Wilson, Graham, & Krames, 2000), as a supplemental teaching tool to present schedules of reinforcement in operant conditioning. Our results suggest that using the virtual laboratory significantly enhanced understanding. Students who used the virtual laboratory…

An investigation of the applicability of behavior modification techniques to the operant crying behaviors (OCBs) in a regular kindergarten classroom was conducted. With baseline, reinforcement, and extinction conditions, the OCBs of two 5-year-old subjects were significantly decreased between baseline and reinforcement conditions. (Author/CS)

Discussion of student motivation and participation, emphasizing the teacher's role in managing students' behavior. (ST)

Identified are misconceptions of behavior modification procedures according to which behavior modification is connected mistakenly with noncontingent reinforcement, partial change of a teacher's behavior, decelerations of inappropriate behaviors only, dependency producing technology, teacher dominated activity, a single type of classroom…