Association for Behavior Analysis International

The diversity of children in classrooms and communities are dramatically changing as the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and other related intellectual and developmental disabilities are increasingly included within it. To engage in the benefits of inclusion, social skills are needed. Yet, individuals with disabilities commonly experience difficulties in this area. Extant literature indicates that social skills are more successfully acquired when taught through naturalistic and embedded instruction in established routines. A commonly occurring routine in most classrooms, homes, and community settings is mealtime. This paper presentation presents data from two studies that examined the efficacy of Snack Talk, a supplemental naturalistic visual communication support, with two different populations: five young children with autism spectrum disorder, and five adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Snack Talk was implemented during mealtime in preschool and adult day center settings, seeking to increase conversation engagement between target participants and staff. A withdrawal design across participants was used. Results demonstrate increases in conversation engagement showed meaningful gains for participants in intervention and maintenance compared to baseline. Limitations and directions for further research are also discussed.