Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 transfer of stimulus control procedures to teach tacting to individuals with autism. Five participants with differing verbal skills were assessed by a subset of the ABLLS prior to intervention, then were taught 36 previously unknown tacts using the receptive-echoic-tact (r-e-t) and echoic-tact (e-t) transfer procedures. Each transfer method was used separately to establish different tacts, in a multiple baseline design across tacts for 3 sets of stimuli. The results showed that 4 out of 5 participants (who demonstrated mands, tacts, echoics, and sometimes intraverbals prior to the study) acquired all targeted tacts when either r-e-t or e-t training was presented. One participant (who emitted no verbal operants at the onset of the study) did not acquire any tacts. While some participants appeared to learn more quickly with one transfer method, neither method emerged as more efficient with learners with fewer or more extensive verbal skills. The results indicate that both transfer methods promoted the acquisition of tacts for learners with autism with at least minimal verbal skills.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arntzen, E., & Almås, I.K. (2002). Effects of mand-tact versus tact-only training on the acquisition of tacts. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35, 419–422.
Barbera, M.L., & Kubina, R.M. (2005). Using transfer procedures to teach tacts to a child with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 21, 155–161.
Drash, P. W., High, R.L., & Tudor, R.M. (1999). Using mand training to establish an echoic repertoire in young children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 16, 29–44.
Lerman, D.C., Parten, M., Addison, L.R., Vorndran, C.M., Volkert, V.M. & Kodak, T. (2005). A methodology for assessing the functions of emerging speech in children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38, 303–316.
Lowenkron, B. (2004). Meaning: A verbal behavior account. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 20, 77–97.
Partington, J.W., & Sundberg, M.L. (1998). The assessment of basic language and learning skills. Danville, CA: Behavior Analysts, Inc.
Partington, J.W., Sundberg, M.L., Newhouse, L., & Spengler, S.M. (1994). Overcoming an autistic child’s failure to acquire a tact repertoire. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 733–734.
Skinner, B.F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Sundberg, M.L. (1998). Realizing the potential of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 15, 143–147.
Sundberg, M.L., & Partington, J.W. (1998). Teaching language to children with autism or other developmental disabilities. Danville, CA: Behavior Analysts, Inc.
Sundberg, M.L., Endicott, K., & Eigenheer, P. (2000). Using intraverbal prompts to establish tacts for children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 17, 89–104.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bloh, C. Assessing Transfer of Stimulus Control Procedures Across Learners With Autism. Analysis Verbal Behav 24, 87–101 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393059
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393059