Evaluating the Language Builder™ Application in the Acquisition of Listener Responding in Young Children with Autism

Abstract

This study evaluated the use of the iPad® Mini and application Language Builder™ in teaching listener responding skills to two preschool aged children with autism, using a multiple baseline across responses design. Training consisted of the participants completing a pre-programmed receptive label lesson contained within Language Builder™ application on an iPad® Mini. Following training trials, an evaluation of the participant’s ability to generalize the skill from the electronic device to two-dimensional picture cards was assessed. Each participant acquired the ability to receptively identify three specified two-dimensional picture cards to a criterion of 100 % independence across two consecutive sessions, requiring an average of two training sessions to master each respective label. For each mastered label, maintenance data were also collected. The participants displayed the ability to retain each label at 100 % correct responding following mastery. This study furthers the current literature on the use of handheld computing technologies that can be used to augment behaviorally based intervention for autism treatment.