RESUMEN

This study tested for the emergence of listener discriminations and intraverbal vocal responses following tact training with four autistic children. All participants were trained to tact the name and the favorite food of two contrived cartoon monsters in the presence of a picture of the monster (e.g., "What is the name of this monster?" - "Max" and "What food does the monster eat?" - "Sweets") to evaluate the effects of emergent listener discriminations and emergent intraverbal vocal responses. Once criterion was met on the tact training, participants were tested for emergent listener discriminations (e.g., "Who eats sweets?" And "Who is Max?") and emergent intraverbal vocal responses (e.g., "What food does Max eat?" - "Sweets" and "Who eats sweets?" - "Max" in the absence of the picture). After training, all four participants engaged in emergent listener responding but only one participant engaged in emergent intraverbal responding. Multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) was used to teach those who could not engage in emergent intraverbal responding, and it was demonstrated to be effective. These findings are educationally significant because efficiency of instruction is important to maximize instructional impact, and to reduce the time and resource-intensive nature of behavior-analytic programming.

RESUMEN

Abstract: Toddlers (children aged 1 to 3 years) may have difficulties responding as a speaker to objects/events for which they have been taught to respond as a listener. This study aimed to perform a methodologically robust evaluation of the effectiveness of a Multiple Exemplar Instruction teaching (MEI) consisting only of listener (auditory-visual matching-to-sample) and speaker tasks (intraverbal tact), in inducing Unidirectional Speaker Naming in toddlers with typical development. Thus, three toddlers aged between 28 and 29 months were exposed to: listener and speaker pre-tests with auditory stimuli and two-dimensional visual stimuli; listener teaching; listener and speaker post-test 1; MEI; and listener and speaker post-test 2. In post-test 2, one toddler showed emergence of Unidirectional Speaker Naming. The findings of this study may help to refine language teaching procedures for toddlers.

Resumo: Crianças bem pequenas (1 a 3 anos de idade) podem apresentar dificuldades em responder como falante para objetos/eventos para os quais foram ensinadas a responder como ouvinte. Este estudo objetivou realizar uma avaliação metodologicamente robusta da eficácia de um Ensino por Múltiplos Exemplares (MEI, no acrônimo em inglês), constituído apenas por tarefas de ouvinte (emparelhamento ao modelo auditivo-visual) e de falante (tato intraverbal), na indução de Nomeação Unidirecional de Falante em crianças bem pequenas com desenvolvimento típico. Assim, três crianças com idades entre 28 e 29 meses foram expostas a: pré-testes de ouvinte e falante com estímulos auditivos e estímulos visuais bidimensionais; ensino de ouvinte; pós-teste 1 de ouvinte e falante; MEI; pós-teste 2 de ouvinte e falante. No pós-teste 2 uma criança apresentou emergência de Nomeação Unidirecional de Falante. Os achados deste estudo poderão contribuir para o refinamento de procedimentos de ensino de linguagem para crianças bem pequenas.

Resumen: Los niños muy pequeños (1 a 3 años) pueden tener dificultades para responder como hablantes a objetos/eventos a los que se les ha enseñado a responder como oyentes. Este estudio buscó llevar a cabo una evaluación metodológicamente robusta de la eficacia de una Enseñanza por Múltiples Ejemplares (MEI, del acrónimo en inglés), consistente únicamente en tareas de oyente (igualación a la muestra auditivo-visual) y hablante (tacto intraverbal), para inducir el Nombramiento Unidireccional de Hablante en niños muy pequeños con desarrollo típico. Así, tres niños de entre 28 y 29 meses fueron expuestos a: prepruebas de oyente y hablante con estímulos auditivos y estímulos visuales bidimensionales; enseñanza de oyente; posprueba 1 de oyente y hablante 1; MEI; posprueba 2 de oyente y hablante. En la posprueba 2, un niño mostró la aparición de la denominación unidireccional del hablante. Los hallazgos de este estudio podrían contribuir a perfeccionar los procedimientos de enseñanza del lenguaje para niños muy pequeños.

RESUMEN

Although many neurotypical children acquire untaught word-object relations incidentally from naturally occurring environmental experiences, many children with and without developmental disabilities require specific intervention. This study examined the effects of rotating listener (match and point) and speaker (tact and intraverbal-tact) responses with added echoics during multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) with training sets of stimuli on the acquisition of Incidental Bidirectional Naming (Inc-BiN). Listener-speaker MEI procedures reported in Hawkins et al. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 10(2), 265-273, (2009) were replicated with procedural modification, new instructors, and new participants (four preschoolers with and without disabilities). The listener-speaker MEI with added echoics consisted of rotating across four response operants: match-with-echoics, point-with-echoics, tact, and intraverbal-tact responses. We measured the establishment of Inc-BiN through the number of the correct untaught listener (point) and untaught speaker (intraverbal-tact) responses for untaught stimuli during the listener-speaker MEI with added echoics. We found that listener-speaker MEI with added echoics was effective in establishing Inc-BiN for 3 of 4 participants.

RESUMEN

Bidirectional naming is an important ability which enables children to acquire listener and speaker behaviors through exposure to relevant word-object associations. Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or developmental delays do not demonstrate this ability and require systematic instruction. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of computer-assisted multiple exemplar instruction to facilitate bidirectional naming. Three 5-year-old Chinese boys with ASD participated in a multiple probe across three participants design. The results indicated that all three children's naming performance increased from pretest to posttest, supporting the potential practicality of the instructional system for use in applied settings.

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RESUMEN

RESUMO: O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar os efeitos do ensino com Instrução com Múltiplos Exemplares (Multiple Exemplar Instruction - MEI), envolvendo, em cada tentativa, a resposta de seguir uma instrução tato-intraverbal para uma relação espacial (por exemplo, esquerda) na emergência de novas respostas e para uma relação espacial não ensinada diretamente (por exemplo, direita) para partes do corpo (braço, orelha, mão, perna). Adicionalmente, foi testada a generalização por meio de objetos que não foram utilizados no ensino com MEI. Os participantes foram quatro crianças e adolescentes diagnosticados com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) e deficiência intelectual, de sete a 14 anos. A sequência do procedimento foi: testes de seguir instrução e de tato-intraverbal em linha de base; ensino com MEI para uma relação espacial; teste final de seguir instrução e de tato-intraverbal para a relação espacial não ensinada diretamente; teste de generalização. Foi utilizado o delineamento de múltiplas sondagens acoplado ao delineamento de linha de base múltipla entre os participantes. Os resultados sugerem que o ensino com MEI foi suficiente para a emergência das respostas não ensinadas diretamente e de generalização. Pôde-se inferir que o procedimento foi eficaz e eficiente, pois gerou a emergência de respostas não ensinadas diretamente e a aprendizagem se deu em poucos blocos.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to verify the effects of teaching with Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) involving, in each trial, the response of following a tact-intraverbal instruction to a spatial relation (for example, left) in the emergence of new responses and for the spatial relation not directly taught (for example, right) for body parts (arm, ear, hand, leg). Additionally, generalization was tested by means of objects that were not used in teaching. Participants were four children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability, aged seven to fourteen. The sequence of the procedure was: tests of rule following and tact-intraverbal in baseline; teaching with MEI for a spatial relation; final test of rule following and tact-intraverbal for the spatial relation not directly taught; generalization test. Multiple probes design coupled with multiple baseline across participants design was used. The results suggest that teaching with MEI was sufficient for the emergence of responses not directly taught and generalization. It could be inferred that the procedure was effective and efficient, as it generated the emergence of responses not directly taught and the learning took place in a few blocks.

RESUMEN

RESUMO: Este estudo comparou a eficiência dos procedimentos de Instrução com Múltiplos Exemplares (MEI) e de Observação de Pareamento de Estímulos (SPOP) para estabelecer nomeação bidirecional (BiN) em quatro crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo. Foi utilizado um delineamento de sondas múltiplas entre pares de participantes. Um participante demonstrou emergência de BiN completa, após passar pelos dois tratamentos experimentais (primeiro SPOP, depois o MEI). Dois participantes demonstraram emergência somente do componente de ouvinte, após o SPOP. No teste final de nomeação, dois participantes demonstraram emergência somente do componente de ouvinte da BiN, e um participante apresentou aumento nos dois componentes em relação à linha de base. Discute-se a eficiência dos tratamentos de maneira isolada, quando apresentados em sequência, além da importância do uso de estímulos reforçadores no processo de aquisição da BiN.

ABSTRACT: This study compared the efficiency of Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) and Stimulus Pairing Observation Procedure (SPOP) for establishing bidirectional naming (BiN) in four children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A multiple probe design was used between pairs of participants. One participant showed emergence of complete BiN after having undergone the two experimental treatments (first SPOP, then MEI). Two participants demonstrated emergence of the listener component after undergoing SPOP treatment. During the final naming test, two participants demonstrated emergence only for the BiN listener component, and one participant showed an increase in both components in relation to the baseline. The efficiency of treatments in isolation, when presented in sequence, is discussed, in addition to the importance of using reinforcing stimuli in the BiN acquisition process.

RESUMEN

Bidirectional naming (BiN) is the integration of speaker and listener responses, reinforced by social consequences. Unfortunately, these consequences often do not function as reinforcers for behavior in children with autism. Accordingly, the repertoire of BiN is also often limited in these children. Previous research has suggested that so-called multiple-exemplar instruction, a rotation between different speaker and listener operants, may be necessary to establish BiN. The present experiment aimed to investigate whether sequential operant instruction might also work as a successful intervention to improve BiN skills after the establishment of standard social reinforcers. Standard social reinforcers were identified and established through an operant-discrimination training procedure in 4 participating children with an autism spectrum diagnosis. In the present experiment, all participants showed increased BiN after sequential operant instruction with conditioned social reinforcers contingent on relevant operants. Two of 4 participants acquired BiN skills. Moreover, the remaining 2 participants scored within the mastery criterion on listener responses, and 1 of them also met the criterion on the tact probes. Essential characteristics of an intervention, as well as the role of the echoic in the emission of BiN, are discussed.

RESUMEN

No escopo da investigação de sob quais condições ocorre a aprendizagem e a emergência de operantes verbais, diferentes condições de ensino têm sido planejadas. Considerando que a população com Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) apresenta frequentemente um repertório de operantes verbais ausente ou fracamente estabelecido, é necessário o estudo do planejamento de intervenções sistemáticas desses repertórios com condições de favorecer não só a aquisição de vocabulário, mas também o seu potencial gerativo de novas funções verbais. O Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) é uma estrutura de ensino que tem demonstrado resultados promissores pela sua capacidade de estabelecer relações entre comportamentos de ouvinte e de falante e gerar novas respostas verbais. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar os efeitos do MEI sobre o estabelecimento e integração entre os repertórios de ouvinte e de falante (ecoico, tato e mando). Participaram duas crianças com TEA, com idades de 7 e 8 anos e cuja comunicação era muito restrita e baseada em trocas de figuras. O ensino adotou três conjuntos com três estímulos cada. O ensino com cada conjunto foi realizado separadamente. Ora o ensino consistia no treino de ouvinte baseado em seleção, ora tentativas de ouvinte, ecoico, tato e mando, eram apresentadas de forma rotativa. Sondas múltiplas intercalaram os ensinos e verificaram os efeitos destes sobre o repertório de falante com os demais conjuntos. Os resultados demonstraram um aumento na emissão de respostas de ouvir e falar após o ensino por MEI para os dois participantes, ambos com repertório verbal restrito, mas o procedimento foi mais efetivo para uma das crianças...(AU)

In the scope of research about under what conditions the learning and emergency of verbal operants occurs, different teaching conditions have been planned. Considering that the population with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often has a repertoire of verbal operants absent or poorly established, it is necessary to study the planning of systematic interventions in these repertoires with conditions to favor not only vocabulary acquisition, but also their generative potential of new verbal functions. The Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) is a teaching structure that has shown promising results for its ability to establish relationships between listening and speaker behaviors and to generate new verbal responses. The objective of this study was to verify the effects of the MEI on the establishment and integration between the listener repertoires and the speaker (echoic, tact and mand). Two children with ASD, aged between 7 and 8 years old, participated in the study, whose communication was very restricted and based on exchanges of figures. The teaching adopted three sets with three stimuli each. Teaching with each set was carried out separately. The teaching consisted of the training of listener based on selection, sometimes attempts of listener, echoic, tact and mand, were presented in a rotating way. Multiple probes intercalated the teachings and verified the effects of these on the repertoire of speaker with the other sets. The results showed an increase in the emission of listening and speaking responses after MEI teaching for the two participants, both with restricted verbal repertoire, but the procedure was more effective for one of the children...(AU)

El el ámbito de la investigación de en qué condiciones se produce el aprendizaje y la aparición de operantes verbales, se han planificado diferentes condiciones de enseñanza. Teniendo en cuenta que la población con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) con frecuencia presenta un repertorio de operantes verbales ausentes o débilmente establecidos, es necesario estudiar la planificación de intervenciones sistemáticas en estos repertorios con condiciones para favorecer no solo la adquisición de vocabulario, sino también su potencial generativo de nuevas funciones verbales. La Instrucción Ejemplar Múltiple (MEI) es una estructura de enseñanza que ha mostrado resultados prometedores por su capacidad para establecer relaciones entre los comportamientos del oyente y el hablante y generar nuevas respuestas verbales. El objetivo de este estudio fue verificar los efectos del MEI en el establecimiento e integración entre los repertorios de oyentes y hablantes (eco, tacto y comando). Participaron dos niños con TEA, de 7 y 8 años, cuya comunicación era muy restringida y basada en intercambios de figuras. La enseñanza adoptó tres conjuntos con tres estímulos cada uno. La enseñanza con cada conjunto se llevó a cabo por separado. Algunas veces la enseñanza consistía en entrenar al oyente en base a la selección, a veces los intentos de escuchar, eco, tacto y comando, se presentaban de manera rotativa. Múltiples sondas intercalan las enseñanzas y verifican sus efectos en el repertorio de los hablantes con los otros grupos. Los resultados mostraron un aumento en la emisión de respuestas para escuchar y hablar después de la enseñanza de MEI para ambos participantes, ambos con repertorio verbal restringido, pero el procedimiento fue más efectivo para uno de los niños...(AU)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

According to traditional linguistic accounts language, and its generative nature, cannot be taught. From a behavior analytic perspective, language is like any other behavior; it is learned and amenable to change. Based upon Skinner's radical behavioral analysis of verbal behavior, specific procedures have been designed to promote novel verbal relations. However, despite the strength and utility of this approach, using behavioral principles to understand the generativity of language has been challenging. Dependent upon the specific theory (e.g., stimulus equivalence, relational frame theory, bidirectional naming) within the radical behavioral orientation, researchers arrange unique procedures to evaluate the variables responsible for this phenomenon. This paper presents the commonalities and differences of two procedures (i.e., multiple exemplar training, multiple exemplar instruction) with examples of research highlighting the use of both in producing generativity. Further, it describes how multiple exemplar instruction is independent from other procedures leading to this outcome, and concludes by providing recommendations for both research and practice.

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RESUMEN

RESUMO O reconhecimento dos conceitos de direita-esquerda é uma evidência do desenvolvimento da noção do corpo e faz parte de um processo de lateralização simbólica. Nesse sentido, o objetivo foi ensinar respostas de ouvinte para relações espaciais de direita-esquerda envolvendo partes do corpo e verificar o uso dessas relações em um contexto diferente. Foram conduzidos dois experimentos, que se diferenciaram em função da idade e repertório de entrada dos participantes e do delineamento experimental. No primeiro, foi utilizado um delineamento do tipo A-B e os participantes foram um menino com autismo e dois jovens com deficiência intelectual. No segundo, foi utilizado o delineamento de linha de base múltipla entre participantes, que foram quatro meninos com autismo. O ensino envolveu o uso de um procedimento de instrução com múltiplos exemplares e esvanecimento de dicas (imitação, dicas gestuais, verbais e físicas). Os resultados indicaram aprendizagem das relações ensinadas e uso dessas relações em um contexto diferente (generalização). O uso de múltiplos exemplares e de esvanecimento mostraram-se promissores no ensino de relações espaciais a participantes com pouco repertório verbal.

ABSTRACT The recognition of the left-right concept is an evidence of the body notion development and is part of a process of symbolic lateralization. In this sense, the goal of the present study was to teach listener responses to left-right spatial relations involving body parts and to verify the use of these relations in a different context. Two experiments were conducted, which differed in terms of the age and the input repertoire of the participants and and in terms of experimental design. In the first, an A-B design was used and the participants were a boy with autism and two adolescents with intellectual disabilities. In the second, a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used and the participants were four boys with autism. The teaching phase involved the use of a multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) and prompt fading (imitation, gestural, verbal and physical prompts) procedure. The results indicated that the participants learned the taught relations and used those relations in a different context (generalization). The use of MEI and fading showed to be promising in teaching left-right spatial relations to participants with a small verbal repertoire.

RESUMEN

Resumo Este estudo comparou a utilização de estímulos bidimensionais e tridimensionais em um procedimento de instrução com múltiplos exemplares para instalar nomeação (integração dos repertórios de falante e ouvinte) em quatro crianças com autismo. Após uma linha de base de nomeação (Fase 1), treinou-se discriminação condicional por identidade com o experimentador tateando os estímulos modelo, discriminação condicional auditivo-visual e tato com novos estímulos (Fase 2). Atingido o critério na Fase 2, a Fase 1 foi replicada (Fase 3). Observada nomeação na Fase 3, a Fase 1 foi replicada com novos estímulos (Fase 4). Dois participantes demonstraram nomeação. Discute-se a efetividade do procedimento de instrução com múltiplos exemplares, o papel da modalidade de estímulos e a interação entre os repertórios de falante e ouvinte.

Abstract The current study compared the use of two- and three-dimensional stimuli in a multiple exemplar instruction procedure to install naming (integration of speaker and listener repertoires) in four autistic children. Phase 1 evaluated the baseline of naming. Phase 2 trained identity conditional discrimination with the experimenter tacting the sample stimuli, auditory-visual conditional discrimination and tact with new stimuli. After reaching criterion in Phase 2, Phase 1 was replicated to verify the emergence of naming (Phase 3). Having observed naming in Phase 3, Phase 1 was replicated with new stimuli (Phase 4). Two participants showed acquisition of naming. The effectiveness of the multiple exemplar instruction procedure, the role of stimuli modality and the interaction between speaker and listener repertoires are discussed.

RESUMEN

We evaluated the effects of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) on the relation between listener and intraverbal categorization repertoires of six typically developing preschool-age children using a nonconcurrent multiple-probe design across participants. After failing to emit intraverbal categorization responses following listener categorization training, participants were exposed to MEI in the form of alternating response forms (listener and intraverbal) during categorization training with novel stimulus sets. For two participants for whom there was some evidence of emergent intraverbal responding, responding was variable. For the remaining four participants, 32 to 99 MEI trial blocks produced minimal improvement in responding or no emergent responding at all. The results are discussed in terms of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior and naming theory.

RESUMEN

The stimulus pairing observation procedure (SPOP) combined with multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) has been shown to be effective with typically developing preschoolers in establishing the joint stimulus control required for the development of naming. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the SPOP in establishing speaker and listener responses in children with autism. Participants were presented with pairings of auditory and visual stimuli during instruction. Participants' tacting and listener responses of the visual stimuli were then evaluated during a test phase. MEI with novel pairs of auditory and visual stimuli was conducted if participants did not demonstrate criterion performance on tact and listener probes. SPOP in conjunction with MEI was shown to be effective in establishing some of the tact and listener relations for the three participants. However, accuracy on tact probes was always lower than listener probes. The participant who responded with the highest accuracy on untaught tact and listener probes also displayed echoic responding on the lowest proportion of SPOP instruction and listener test trials.

RESUMEN

We report 2 experiments that tested the effects of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) across training sets on the emergence of productive autoclitic frames (suffixes) for 6 preschoolers with and without language-based disabilities. We implemented multiple exemplar tact instruction with subsets of stimuli whose "names" contained the suffix "-er" denoting the comparative form of adjectives. Subsets of stimuli included regular, irregular, and contrived tacts containing the target relational autoclitic frame in order to determine if our MEI procedure would induce the abstraction of the frame across all stimulus sets. In the second experiment, additional tasks were introduced to the participants to control for a possible sequence effect. A nonconcurrent multiple probe design was used to evaluate the functional relation between MEI and emergence of untaught tact responses containing the comparative adjective "-er." The results of both experiments showed relations between MEI and novel, untaught tact responses containing the target autoclitic frame; the second experiment showing a functional relation. The results are discussed in terms of environmental sources for productive verbal behavior.

RESUMEN

In two experiments, we tested the effect of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) for training sets on the emergence of autoclitic frames for spatial relations for novel tacts and mands. In Experiment 1, we used a replicated pre- and post-intervention probe design with four students with significant learning disabilities to test for acquisition of four autoclitic frames with novel tacts and mands before and after MEI. The untaught topographies emerged for all participants. In Experiment 2, we used a multiple probe design to test the effects of the MEI procedures on the same responses in four typically developing, bilingual students. The novel usage emerged for all participants. In the latter experiment, the children demonstrated untaught usage of mand or tact frames regardless of whether they were taught to respond in either listener or speaker functions alone or across listener and speaker functions. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of MEI in the formation of abstractions.

RESUMEN

Naming is a verbal developmental capability and cusp that allows children to acquire listener and speaker functions without direct instruction (e.g., incidental learning of words for objects). We screened 19 typically developing 2- and 3-year-old children for the presence of Naming for 3-dimensional objects. All 9 3-year-olds had Naming, and 8 of 10 2-year-olds lacked Naming. For the 2-year-old children who lacked Naming, we used multiple-probe designs (2 groups of 4 children) to test the effect of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) across speaker and listener responses on the emergence of Naming. Prior to the MEI, the children could not emit untaught listener or speaker responses following match-to-sample instruction with novel stimuli, during which they had heard the experimenter tact the stimuli. After MEI with a different set of novel stimuli, the children emitted listener and speaker responses when probed with the original stimuli, in the absence of any further instruction with those stimuli. Seven of 8 children acquired the speaker and listener responses of Naming at 83% to 100% accuracy. We discuss the basic and applied science implications.