| Abstract: By using everyday school routines, teachers and other caregivers can implement the ASKED model to teach young children with autism and developmental disabilities to ask wh-questions. Asking wh-questions is an early developmental manding communication, such as a toddler asking, “wats dat?” for “what’s that?” “wer mama?” for “where is mama?” and “hoo dat?” for “who is that?” However, young children with autism and developmental disabilities may not naturally learn how to ask these questions and may need to be explicitly taught using Applied Behavior Analysis. The ASKED model consists of five steps: (1) assimilate list of children’s favorite items and activities, (2) set up the classroom, (3) kick off the question-asking to (4) encourage correct responses, and (5) data collection. This model is an empirically supported instructional strategy for teaching wh-questions, by manipulating environmental variables to elicit question responses that professionals and teachers can implement in various generalized settings. Typically, when young children hear questions in close association to what is happening in their social environments, they learn how to communicate using these questions. This presentation will explain the science and walk the audience through three concrete examples for teaching information-seeking mands. |