Developing Discriminative Requesting Using Natural Environment Training in Two Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Alzrayer Nouf M,Banda Devender R

doi:10.23937/iacod-2017/1710009

Abstract

The use of touchscreen devices for communication purposes has been shown to be effective in the literature; however, there is little research in the effectiveness of applying naturalistic teaching approaches in developing discriminative requesting in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two participants between the ages of 3 and 5, who were non-vocal, were taught to select a target symbol when presented with varying number of non-target symbols. Behavioral therapists who frequently interacted with the participants were trained to implement the intervention during playtime within their natural environment.

Highlights

Speech and language developmental delays are prevalent among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [1]
The purpose of the study was to determine whether (a) Applying naturalistic teaching approaches will facilitate the development of discriminative requesting in young children with ASD, (b) Utilizing modified version of PECS Phase III training procedure will improve symbol discrimination when using an iPad-based-SGD for requesting, and (c) Generalizing of discriminative requesting will occur across other preferred items and behavioral therapists
The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of applying NET to develop discriminative requesting in young children with ASD

Summary

Introduction

Speech and language developmental delays are prevalent among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [1] These deficits may impact the children’s ability to communicate both verbally and nonverbally [1]. Evidence suggests that SGDs have a significant impact on improving functional communication skills in children with ASD [5,6]. Touchscreen devices have opened a new avenue in the AAC field that enables the use of such sophisticated computers such as dedicated SGDs. Empirical evidence has shown that iPads or iPods with AAC applications are effective in improving functional communication skills that vary in their complexity from a simple single-step request (i.e., selecting 1 symbol) to more advanced multistep responses (i.e., activating multiple symbols across different pages) [7]. The investigators of the previously cited studies manipulated the environment to motivate the participants to request specific reinforces or tact items/actions

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