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| Advancing Evaluations on the Emergence and Acquisition of Various Verbal Operants |
| Monday, May 26, 2025 |
| 3:00 PM–4:50 PM |
| Marriott Marquis, M2 Level, Marquis Salon 12-13 |
| Area: VBC/AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Gabriela Salazar (University of Miami) |
| Discussant: Daniel E Conine (Georgia State University) |
| Abstract: Prior research on several teaching procedures has provided a model for establishing and maintaining early verbal skills among children with varied repertoires. This symposium will include four presentations that reviewed or directly evaluated teaching procedures for establishing various verbal operants. The first study compared the acquisition of receptive identification targets with and without speech output followed by assessing preference for either teaching procedure and generalization to tacts with three children on the autism spectrum. The second study replicated and extended discriminated mand training procedures among speech-generating device users and assessed related skills with minimally verbal children on the autism spectrum. The third study evaluated the effects of scenic pictures and a progressive time delay on intraverbals among children on the autism spectrum. The fourth study conducted a literature review of behavior-analytic research practices when evaluating the emergence and acquisition of second language skills. The discussant will review the contributions of the presented studies and provide recommendations for future research. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
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| Differentiating Between Automated Speech Output and Therapist Delivered Feedback During Receptive Identification Tasks |
| AMELIA SKYE NELSON (Florida Tech), Kimberly Sloman (The Scott Center for Autism Treatment/ Florida Institute of Technology), Julianne I Fernandez (Florida Tech and The Scott Center), Franchesca Izquierdo (Florida Institute of Technology), Mariana Torres-Viso (Center for Children with Special Needs (CCSN)) |
| Abstract: Some research suggests that incorporating speech output into language learning tasks may result in faster and more efficient learning for adults with disabilities (e.g., Kohl & Schlosser, 2005; Schlosser et al, 1998). However, the effects of speech output on learning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain largely unknown. To address this gap, the current study was conducted with three children with an ASD diagnosis. Using a multielement and multiple baseline across sets design, we compared the acquisition of receptive identification targets under two conditions: speech output (SO) and no speech output (NSO). Additionally, we examined participant preference for the two conditions, the differential impact of technology- versus therapist-produced feedback and generalization of the learned skill to tacts. We observed faster acquisition and better maintenance in the speech output condition relative to the no speech output condition for all participants. We will discuss possible mechanisms for the results as well as implications for practitioners in teaching receptive identification targets. |
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| Evaluating Matching, Echoics, and Discriminated Mands Among Speech-Generating Device Users |
| GABRIELA SALAZAR (University of Miami), Janelle Kirstie Bacotti (University of Miami), Yanerys Leon (University of Miami), Timothy R. Vollmer (University of Florida) |
| Abstract: Minimally verbal children are part of the diagnostic population described as having profound autism (Hughes et al., 2023). Discriminated mand training using speech-generating devices (SGDs) has involved sequentially altering the screen and providing prompt delays (Lorah, 2018; Lorah et al., 2014). Our study evaluated the isolated effects of treatment components described by Lorah (2018) to establish discriminated mands when using SGDs and tested for maintenance in a larger icon array. Additionally, we analyzed participants’ response patterns (i.e., types of correspondence) during SGD sessions and characterized their skill repertoires (i.e., matching, echoics) before and after their first and last SGD session, respectively. Eight children (2–7 years) on the autism spectrum who reportedly exhibited minimal speech-based mands and echoics, and had mixed histories with using SGDs participated. Most participants either acquired discriminated mands with differential reinforcement alone or after experiencing a subset of screen changes with or without a 5-s prompt delay. However, one participant did not acquire discriminated mands following all screen changes and a 5-s prompt delay. Additionally, participants exhibited improvements or maintained performance during the matching and echoics tests. We discuss the importance of multiple data analyses and monitoring changes in related skills for SGD users. |
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The Effects of Scenic Pictures and Progressive Time Delay on Varied Intraverbal Responding |
| Breanna White (USF), Meka McCammon (University of South Florida), Catia Cividini-Motta Cividini (University of South Florida), MARY LLINAS (USF) |
| Abstract: Many autistic individuals experience deficits in social communication and interactions, including difficulty acquiring intraverbal responding. Intraverbals are critical to maintaining social relationships (Partington & Bailey, 1993) and establish the foundation for academic skills and complex interactions such as answering questions and problem solving (Pérez-González & García-Asenjo, 2016; Sundberg, 2008). Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of tact prompts to establish single responses to questions about intraverbal categories. Scenic picture prompts (SPP), a visual depiction of multiple exemplars belonging to a stimulus class, may increase the likelihood that individuals will emit multiple responses when answering categorical questions, and promote response variability. The purpose of this study was to extend Glodowski and Rodriguez (2019) by evaluating the effectiveness of a larger array of visual stimuli on varied intraverbal responding with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 8 and 17-years old receiving services in a private school for individuals with autism. We successfully demonstrated the efficacy of SPP + PTD in promoting the acquisition of intraverbal categorization and demonstrate concomitant increases in response variability and novel responding with three male children with autism. |
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| A Review of Second Language Acquisition and Emergence |
| ARIADNA MARTINEZ (University of South Florida), Catia Cividini-Motta Cividini (University of South Florida) |
| Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review and summarize behavior analytic literature investigating the acquisition and emergence of second language skills. Currently, familiarity with more than one language is widespread and in high demand. Some individuals speak more than one language because one of those languages is their heritage language (Montrul, 2010) while others speak more than one language because there is an increasing demand for proficiency in more than one language (Agirdag, 2014; Churkina et al., 2023). Researchers synthesized data from behavior analytic journals for the following categories: (a) participant characteristics, (b) language training and emergence, (c) study procedures and participant skills, (d) participant outcomes, (e) generalization procedures, (f) maintenance procedures, (g) caregiver involvement and (h) social validity. Results indicate that the majority of participants were children, of Hispanic or Latinx descent, communicated vocally, and acquired second language skills. Most studies focused on both skill acquisition and emergence, targeted English and Spanish, assessed maintenance, and assessed tacts, mands, or intraverbals. However, most studies did not assess generalization, caregiver involvement, or social validity. Limitations of the previous research, recommendations for future research, and implications for clinical practice are discussed. |
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