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Verbal Behavior Interventions

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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Definition

Verbal Behavior, Verbal Behavior intervention, or Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB), is an application of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy that incorporates B. F. Skinner’s 1957functional analysis of the acquisition of language in individuals. Skinner’s book only describes verbal behavior and does not specifically describe how to apply verbal behavior in an intervention setting. The primary focus in Verbal Behavior intervention is to identify deficits in an individual’s functional language and skills to determine how to best capture a child’s motivation. This motivation helps to pair the value of a word and the word itself; this is done through behavior training. Verbal Behavior intervention used with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often works on mastering four distinct components of Skinner’s verbal behavior (i.e., mands, tacts, echoics, and intraverbals). Additional verbal intervention can be completed on receptive skills (in the areas of...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 118 Haggar Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Karen Tang B.S. & Kristin Wier M.A., LLP, BCBA

  2. Sonya Ansari Center for Autism, LOGAN Center, 205 E. Jefferson Blvd, South Bend, IN, 46615, USA

    Kristin Wier M.A., LLP, BCBA

Authors
  1. Karen Tang B.S.
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  2. Kristin Wier M.A., LLP, BCBA
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Correspondence to Karen Tang B.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology Yale University School of Medicine, Chief, Child Psychiatry Children's Hospital at Yale-New Haven Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar (Director, Child Study Center) (Director, Child Study Center)

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Tang, K., Wier, K. (2013). Verbal Behavior Interventions. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_373

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_373

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1697-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1698-3

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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