Abstract
Matrix training consists of preplanning instruction by arranging components of desired skills across a minimum of two axes. In the current study, three matrices were developed for each participant (e.g., Matrix 1, Generalization Matrix 1, and Generalization Matrix 2) with known color and shape components. Following baseline, nonoverlapping (i.e., diagonal) training was conducted with Matrix 1. Results of posttests were used to determine the extent of emergence of untrained color-shape combinations across all matrices. Results from all six participants indicated that mastery criteria were eventually met for Matrix 1. For five participants, mastery criteria were also eventually met for generalization matrices. Results replicate findings from prior studies and offer a simple approach for both testing emergence of untrained skills and remediating responding.
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Acknowledgements
The study was conducted at the Marcus Autism Center and Emory University and was supported by a grant from the Marcus Core Pilot Funding Award.
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The authors have no declared financial conflicts of interest.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained for all individuals in the study.
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Research Highlights
• Children with autism may require specific instruction to combine learned words into phrases.
• Matrix training is a useful strategy for programming, as it lends itself to very systematic instruction and analysis.
• Recombinative generalization of known color-shape components was demonstrated with targets from the trained matrix for all participants in the current study.
• Emergence of color-shape tacts for targets in untrained matrices may be due to refined stimulus control over verbal responses.
Brittany Bartlett and Taylor Thompson are now affiliated with Village Autism Center, Marietta, Georgia. Bethany Hansen is now affiliated with University of Nebraska Medical Center Munroe-Meyer Institute, Omaha, Nebraska.
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Frampton, S.E., Thompson, T.M., Bartlett, B.L. et al. The Use of Matrix Training to Teach Color-Shape Tacts to Children with Autism. Behav Analysis Practice 12, 320–330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-018-00288-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-018-00288-4