Association for Behavior Analysis International

Many individuals diagnosed with autism demonstrate deficits in verbal, academic, and imitation skills. Various programs have been developed to improve these skills; however, it is important to ensure that these programs are effective, socially valid, and produce generalizable repertoires. Study 1 reviewed the literature on teaching imitation in 20 studies with a total of 166 participants with autism. The authors found that contingent imitation may improve skills adjacent to imitation including language, play, and joint attention. Study 2 addressed the adaptive skill of using a debit card with adolescents. After using multiple exemplars, the participants generalized the skill to the community over a four week period. Study 3 evaluated a recently developed error correction program for discrete trial instruction that involved losing opportunities to earn more-preferred items following a mistake. Not only was the program found to efficiently improve mastery of targeted tasks, it was also preferred by participants and caregivers. Instructor error during discrete trial instruction, such as delays to reinforcer delivery, can also impact skill acquisition of the student. In Study 4, the authors systematically manipulated different delays to reinforcement across multiple reinforcer classes to evaluate the effects of programmed treatment integrity failure. These studies provide evidence for multiple programs that can be used to build skills for those diagnosed with autism.

BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, BCaBAs, licensed psychologists, and other behavior analytic providers who need to learn different techniques for skill-building with clients diagnosed with autism.

Imitation training is a critical component of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs for children with autism. While extensive research has informed procedures for teaching imitation under tight instructional control, there are not comparable empirically-derived procedures for teaching imitation in the natural environment. Contingent imitation (i.e., the instructor imitating the child’s behavior) is a naturalistic strategy incorporated in reciprocal imitation training (RIT). The present review evaluated the literature using contingent imitation to teach imitation in children with autism across 20 studies, published across 14 journals, with a total of 166 participants with autism. Effects reported include increases to imitation (i.e., vocal, motor, object), language, play behaviors, and joint attention. A nonoverlapping points (NAP) treatment analysis indicated this research has produced variable effect sizes. However, more research is warranted, and directions for future research on contingent imitation are discussed. This review will apply a conceptual analysis of generalized imitative repertoires to its discussion of whether contingent imitation may facilitate skill acquisition and influence motivating variables.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate deficits in performing generalized responses that occur in natural environments. Previous research has discussed the importance of teaching adaptive skills to adolescents with ASD that generalize to the natural environment to increase independence throughout adulthood. To address such deficits, Horner and colleagues (1982) recommended using general-case analysis strategies to identify the full range of stimulus variations and required responses; then creating multiple teaching exemplars that facilitate for generalization of the target skill. To date, general-case analysis and multiple exemplar training have not been used to teach individuals with ASD to use a chip debit card. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to address limitations of previous studies that did not implement generalization strategies to teach adolescents with ASD adaptive skills. A multiple-probe design was used to demonstrate skill acquisition across teaching and generalization probe exemplars for three adolescents with ASD. Pre- and posttest probes were conducted at stores in the natural environment to assess generalized responding. All participants acquired the target skill following video modeling and multiple exemplar training, generalized their responding to the natural environment and maintained their responding during a four-week posttest probe.