Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Evaluating the Emergence of Reverse Intraverbals in Children with Autism

  • Published:
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Verbal behavior plays a fundamental role in the development of complex social and communication skills. Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder exhibit profound deficiencies in intraverbal repertoires and the development of social relationships. Recent studies that investigated the effects of intraverbal training on the emergence of reverse intraverbals produced mixed results (e.g., Perez-Gonzalez et al., Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 40:697–701, 2007)). In the current study, a multiple-probe design across four participants with autism was used to evaluate the effects of intraverbal training on the emergence of reverse intraverbals. Intraverbal training consisted of multiple exemplars taught concurrently, bidirectional stimulus-response teaching formats, general case analysis, reinforcement, and a constant prompt delay (CPD) procedure. Participants were trained on intraverbal targets and probes were conducted to assess emergence of untaught reverse intraverbals. Three participants demonstrated the emergence of reverse intraverbals as a result of the intraverbal training procedures. Social validity and maintenance of target responses and emergent reverse intraverbals were assessed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Intraverbal trials refer to trials in which the participants were required to respond and feedback was provided based on the participants’ response. Reverse intraverbal probe trials refer to trials in which the participant was not required to respond to and no consequences were provided if a response was provided.

References

  • Axe, J. B. (2008). Conditional discrimination in the intraverbal relation: a review and recommendations for future research. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 24, 159–174.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bloh, C. (2008). Assessing transfer of stimulus control procedures across learners with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 24, 87–101.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coon, J. T., & Miguel, C. F. (2012). The role of increased exposure to transfer-of-stimulus-control procedures on the acquisition of intraverbal behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 45, 657–666. doi:10.1901/jaba.2012.45-657.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkel, A. S., & Williams, R. L. (2001). A comparison of textual and echoic prompts on the acquisition of intraverbal behavior in a six-year old boy with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 18, 61–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilliam, J. E. (1995). Gilliam autism rating scale (2nd ed.). Austin: Pro-Ed.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, T. R., LeBlanc, L. A., & Sautter, R. A. (2007). Teaching intraverbal behavior to children with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1, 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2006.07.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horner, R. H., Williams, J. A., & Steveley, J. D. (1987). Acquisition of generalized telephone use by students with moderate and severe mental retardation. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 8, 229–247. doi:10.1016/0891-4222(87)90006-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ingvarsson, E. T., & Hollobaugh, T. (2011). Acquisition of intraverbal behavior: teaching children with autism to mand for answers to questions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43, 1–17. doi:10.1901/jaba.2010.43-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingvarsson, E. T., & Le, D. D. (2011). Further evaluation of prompting tactics for establishing intraverbal responding in children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 75–93.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kisamore, A. N., Carr, J. E., & LeBlanc, L. A. (2011). Training preschool children to use visual imagining as a problem-solving strategy for complex categorization skills. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44, 255–278. doi:10.1901/jaba.2011.44-255.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martens, B. K., Witt, J. C., Elliot, S. N., & Darveaux, D. X. (1985). Teacher judgments concerning the acceptability of school-based interventions. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 16, 191–198. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.16.2.191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marzullo-Kerth, D., Reeve, S. A., & Reeve, K. F. (2011). Using multiple-exemplar training to teach a generalized repertoire of sharing to children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44, 279–294. doi:10.1901/jaba.2011.44-279.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Michael, J., Palmer, D. C., & Sundberg, M. L. (2011). The multiple control of verbal behavior. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 3–22.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miguel, C. F., Petursdottir, A. I., & Carr, J. E. (2005). The effects of multiple-tact and receptive-discrimination training on the acquisition of intraverbal behavior. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 21, 27–41.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perez-Gonzalez, L. A., Garcia-Asenjo, L., Williams, G., & Carnerero, J. J. (2007). Emergence of intraverbal antonyms in children with pervasive development disorder. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 697–701. doi:10.1901/jaba.2007.697701.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perez-Gonzalez, L. A., Herszlikowicz, K., & Williams, G. (2008). Stimulus relations analysis and the emergence of novel intraverbals. The Psychological Record, 58, 95–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petursdottir, A. I., Carr, J. E., Lechago, S. A., & Almason, S. M. (2008a). An evaluation of intraverbal training and listener training for teaching categorization skills. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 53–68. doi:10.1901/jaba.2008.41-53.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petursdottir, A. I., Olafsdottir, A. R., & Aradottir, B. (2008b). The effects of tact and listener training on the emergence of bidirectional intraverbal relations. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 411–415. doi:10.1901/jaba.2008.41-411.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reeve, S. A., Reeve, K. F., Townsend, D. B., & Poulson, C. L. (2007). Establishing a generalized repertoire of helping behavior in children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 123–136. doi:10.1901/jaba.2007.11-05.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosales, R., Rehfeldt, R. A., & Lovett, S. (2011). Effects of multiple exemplar training on the emergence of derived relations in preschool children learning a second language. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 61–74.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sidman, M., & Tailby, W. (1982). Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample: an expansion of the testing paradigm. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 37, 5–2. doi:10.1901/jeab.1982.37-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. Cambridge: Prentice-Hall.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sprague, J. R., & Horner, R. H. (1984). The effects of single instance, multiple instance, and general case training on generalized vending machine use by moderately and severely handicapped students. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 273–278. doi:10.1901/jaba.1984.17-273.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, C. L., Krantz, P. J., & McClannahan, L. E. (2000). Social interaction skills for children with autism: a script-fading procedure for nonreaders. Behavioral Interventions, 15, 1–20. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-078X(200001/03)15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367. doi:10.1901/jaba.1977.10-349.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sundberg, M. L. (2008). VB-MAPP. Verbal behavior milestones assessment and placement program. Concord: AVB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundberg, M. L., & Sundberg, C. A. (2011). Intraverbal behavior and verbal conditional discrimination in typically developing children and children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 23–43.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, B. A., & Harris, S. L. (1995). Teaching children with autism to seek information: acquisition of novel information and generalization of responding. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 3–14. doi:10.1901/jaba.1995.28-3.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vedora, J., Meunier, L., & Mackay, H. (2009). Teaching intraverbal behavior to children with autism: a comparison of textual and echoic prompts. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 25, 79–86.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, J. S. (2005). Peer-mediated conversational repair in students with moderate and severe disabilities. Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30, 26–37. doi:10.2511/rpsd.30.1.26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K. T. (2007). Expressive vocabulary test (2nd ed.). Minneapolis: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Paul Argott for his feedback regarding various aspects of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Behavior Analysis, Caldwell University, 120 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell, NJ, 07006, USA

    Alicia C. Allan, Jason C. Vladescu, April N. Kisamore, Sharon A. Reeve & Tina M. Sidener

Authors
  1. Alicia C. Allan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jason C. Vladescu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. April N. Kisamore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sharon A. Reeve
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tina M. Sidener
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason C. Vladescu.

Additional information

This article is based on a thesis submitted by the first author, under the supervision of the second author, at Caldwell University in partial fulfillment for the requirements of a Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Allan, A.C., Vladescu, J.C., Kisamore, A.N. et al. Evaluating the Emergence of Reverse Intraverbals in Children with Autism. Analysis Verbal Behav 31, 59–75 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40616-014-0025-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40616-014-0025-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation