Mands for information (MFIs) play an important role in language development and are important for successfully acquiring new information from one's environment. Yet many individuals with autism do not acquire mands for information without direct teaching. Research has demonstrated effective procedures for teaching all "wh" forms, except…

Due to the increasing number of students in need of special education services and the shortages of licensed special education personnel, paraeducators have become critical in the education of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities in school settings. As a result, the training of paraeducators has become a major…

Members (behaviors) of a response class are equivalent in that they produce the same functional reinforcer. Oftentimes, some members of a response class occur at higher rates than others. This can be problematic when the members that occur at high rates are socially inappropriate (e.g., self-injury, aggression, or disruption). The participant in…

The mand is a type of verbal operant whose response form is under control of a motivating operation (MO). It is the first verbal operant to be acquired, directly benefits the speaker, leads to the development of other behaviors, and may serve to replace problem behavior. Even though the topography of the mand is under the functional control of an…

In the present essay, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the publication of B. F. Skinner's "Verbal Behavior", I stand by and defend the judgment I expressed in my article "The Long Goodbye: Why B. F. Skinner's 'Verbal Behavior' Is Alive and Well on the 50th Anniversary of Its Publication" (2008c)--that Skinner's…

More is known about how to reduce challenging behavior with functional communication training (FCT) than how to mitigate its resurgence during or following a course of treatment. Research suggests reinforcing mand variability during FCT may mitigate the resurgence of challenging behavior, but validated procedures for reinforcing mand variability…

Individuals with developmental disabilities often do not develop vocal repertoires, thus requiring the use of augmentative devices. Teaching caregivers to conduct communication training with their children may be one way to foster communication with their device in the natural environment. This study replicates Rosales, Stone and Rehfeldt (2009),…

Various types of augmentative and alternative communication systems have been successfully used to enable functional communication in children with developmental disabilities. The effects of such systems on natural speech production have also been investigated, but few studies have explored the effects of specific procedures aim at inducing…

The use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the child's natural setting is critical for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to improve communication skills and promote generalization. Yet, to implement EBPs effectively, caregivers often require training. The purpose of this study is to explore the efficacy of behavior skills…

Jack Michael offered a course on verbal behavior almost every year throughout his teaching career. Jack was also interested in the application of Skinner's work and in 1976 began to offer a graduate course at Western Michigan University titled Verbal Behavior Applications. Jack and his students pursued the application of Skinner's work on verbal…

The task of extending Skinner's (1957) interpretation of verbal behavior includes accounting for the moment-to-moment changes in stimulus control as one speaks. A consideration of the behavior of the reader reminds us of the continuous evocative effect of verbal stimuli on readers, listeners, and speakers. Collateral discriminative responses to…

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…

Most verbal behavior curricula for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focus on teaching multiple mands during the early stages of training (e.g., picture exchange communication system; Bondy & Frost, 1994). However, few, if any, of those curricula train children with ASD to differentially mand only for reinforcers that are reasonable…

In the current investigation, we reviewed the literature on mand training for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in schools. Ninety-three studies met our inclusion criteria including 225 individual participants. Data were extracted related to participant demographics (e.g., age, disability, response form) and study…

Autism researchers often use mand training paired with direct trial instruction (DTI) as an effective way to increase communication skills for young children with autism. However, these methods often occur in clinical settings. In this case study, we trained a parent to complete a DTI verbal mand intervention with her son with autism. She…