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| On Becoming Fully Verbal |
| Tuesday, November 11, 2025 |
| 3:00 PM–6:00 PM |
| Altis Grand Hotel; Level 1; Roma I |
| Area: VBC/AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| CE Instructor: Richard E Laitinen, Ph.D. |
| GLADYS WILLIAMS (LEARNMOREinc), RICHARD E LAITINEN (Educational and Developmental Therapies, Inc) |
| Description: The purpose of this workshop is to walk through the hierarchy of language acquisition. Research has shown that basic prerequisites greatly enhance an individual’s ability to develop functional language. These skills include; discriminating voices, face recognition, eye contact, and visual tracking. In this workshop we will provide an overview of the teaching procedures designed to develop an echoic repertoire and strengthen observational learning in the individual. We will discuss several strategies developed to bring vocal emissions under stimulus control. A strong repertoire of tacts is the core of conversation. This discussion will include some basic strategies for teaching tacts as well as a detailed outline of the Rapid Tacting protocol. In addition, we will teach the steps to develop the skills required to sequence events, structure conversations, and relay stories. In discussing the specific procedures we will highlight their importance in increasing an individuals tact repertoire. Building on that knowledge we will introduce a structure for gradually increasing the sophistication and complexity of language with the goal of becoming fully verbal. |
| Learning Objectives: 1. Describe strategies to become a source of reinforcement | 2. Describe strategies to bring about behavioral cusps | 3. Describe strategies to condition a community of reinforcers | 4. Describe strategies to promote basic verbal operants | 5. Describe a hierarchy of complex language |
| Activities: Instructional strategies include lecture, discussion, and small group activities. |
| Audience: This workshop is appropriate for behavior analysts, teachers, consultants, ABA therapists, administrators, speech language pathologists, and school personnel. |
| Content Area: Practice |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
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