Association for Behavior Analysis International

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have deficits in imitation skills. Imitation skills are prerequisites to acquiring more complex behaviors. Often these deficits are debilitating as individuals move into adulthood and need to imitate the skills of peers, teachers, and colleagues. Baer et al. (1967) defined imitation as any behavior that temporally follows a behavior emitted by the model, and the imitative behavior’s topography is functionally controlled by the model’s behavior topography. Thus, the model becomes a critical aspect to teaching individuals to imitate. In this symposium, we discuss methods in which imitation skills were taught to children with ASD. In the first presentation, the presenter will describe a study in which modeling and prompting procedures were used to teach Syrian children with ASD imitation skills including eye contact. In the second presentation, the presenter will describe a study in which the effectiveness of two methods of prompting were compared. Based on the outcome, the most effective prompting procedure was used to teach imitation skills using a mirror to children with ASD. The symposium will conclude with remarks from a discussant.

The target audience includes practitioners delivering services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities. Attendees should have basic understanding of terminology related to imitation, generalization, and single-case research design.

In this presentation we will describe the effects of prompting and modeling on imitation skills and eye contact of three Arabic-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder. A multiple baseline design with a withdrawal component was used to evaluate the effects in a clinical setting and in follow up sessions conducted in the participants’ homes. All participants’ imitative responding increased when modeling and prompting was used. Additionally, participants’ percentages of the targeted imitation skills maintained at a high correct percentage at the two- and five-week follow-up. Finally, participants’ percentage of eye contact increased during the modeling and prompting conditions and maintained at follow-up will be discussed.