Verbal Behaviour and Communication

Research categorised under the heading “Verbal Behaviour and Communication” focuses on strategies for developing initial speech, communicating via augmented forms of communication (eg. pictures, sign or iPad apps), different forms of communication (eg. mands, tacts or responses to questions) and strategies for accelerating learning in this area.

Deconstructing Common Bidirectional Naming: A Proposed Classification Framework – Emma Hawkins, Grant Gautreaux & Mecca Chiesa (2018)

It is important that if a child can point to or find an item (act as a listener) that they can also tact, ask for or label that item (act as a speaker) without further teaching. It is also important that children learn how to acquire new language without any direct teaching, but acquire it through listening to others. This is a conceptual paper focussing on this joining of speaker behaviour and listener behaviour: naming. The authors describe different subtypes of naming and how to test for these subtypes. The goal is to assist teachers to systematically implement procedures to induce specific subtypes of naming. This paper was published in The Analysis of Verbal Behavior journal in 2018.

Conceptually, the use of the technical term naming appears to be a broad term that describes several subtypes of emergent verbal behavior. Miguel (2016) introduces the concept of subtypes of naming, specifically common bidirectional naming and intraverbal bidirectional naming. He defines common bidirectional naming as “the process of different stimuli evoking the same speaker and listener behaviour and becoming members of the same class” (p. 130). A review of the literature on common bidirectional naming yielded some ambiguities related to differences in how researchers in the field defined naming. This article suggests that common bidirectional naming may be further dissected to yield six subtypes of naming. We aligned previous research on emergent verbal behavior with a unified taxonomy as part of a larger proposed classification framework on naming. The impact of identifying the subtypes of common bidirectional naming on skill acquisition and curriculum design is discussed. Finally, recommendations are made for future research based on this framework.

Link to published article

Testing Children Diagnosed with Autism for Six Subtypes of Common Bidirectional Naming – Emma Hawkins & Kate Hewett

Following on from the conceptual article on naming by Hawkins, Gautreaux & Chiesa (2018) this research project tested 6 children diagnosed with autism for the presence of the 6 subtypes of naming. The purpose of the project was to determine whether the 6 children demonstrated emergent behaviour, for example if taught to point to an item then could they also tact/label that items without further teaching? Recommendations were made for each participant in terms of how their curriculum should change to ensure emergent behaviour is maximised. This research was presented in poster format at the 2018 CABAS conference in New Jersey.

Conceptually, naming appears to be a generic term that describes several subtypes. Miguel (2016) introduced the concept of subtypes of naming, specifically Common Bidirectional Naming and Intraverbal Bidirectional Naming. He defined Common Bidirectional Naming as the process of different stimuli evoking the same speaker and listener behaviour and becoming members of the same class. Hawkins, Gautreaux, and Chiesa (2018) suggested that Common Bidirectional Naming can be further dissected to provide six subtypes: listener unidirectional naming, speaker unidirectional naming, joint bidirectional naming, listener incidental unidirectional naming, speaker incidental unidirectional naming and joint incidental bidirectional naming. Six children diagnosed with autism and a learning disability were tested for each of these subtypes of naming to determine whether some subtypes are prerequisites for others. More participants met the criterion for listener naming compared to speaker naming and more participants met the criteria for bidirectional naming compared to incidental bidirectional naming suggesting listener naming may be a prerequisite for speaker naming and bidirectional naming may be a prerequisite for incidental bidirectional naming.

Link to Poster

Testing the Effects of Multiple Exemplar Instruction on the Induction of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming in Older Children and Young Adults Diagnosed with Autism – Emma Hawkins, Grant Gautreaux & Mecca Chiesa

If a child acts as a listener (can point to or find an item), then it is important that they can also act as a speaker (ask for or label that same item) without further teaching. It is also important that children learn how to acquire new language without any direct teaching, but acquire it through listening to others. This is known as emergent verbal behaviour. This is an experimental paper focussing on using procedures to induce emergent verbal behaviour in older children diagnosed with autism. The results of our study were not in line with previously published research with younger children diagnosed with autism. It is suggested that additional prerequisites may be required for this population. This paper was presented at the 45th annual ABA convention in Chicago (May, 2019).

Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming (Hawkins, Gautreaux, & Chiesa, 2018) is a subtype of Common Bidirectional Naming (Miguel, 2016). Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming is defined as the emergence of both untaught listener behaviour and untaught speaker behaviour following an incidental language experience providing the names of novel items. No direct teaching is involved in the acquisition of the names of these novel items. We evaluated the effectiveness of Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) on the induction of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming with a group of ten older children and young adults, aged 6-18 years, diagnosed with autism and a learning disability. A multiple probe design was used to test for the acquisition of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming. One participant acquired Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming following the MEI procedure. Four participants met the criteria for Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming prior to the MEI procedure being implemented. Five participants did not meet the criteria for Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming post-MEI intervention. The potential of tests producing false negative scores and the effects of multiple testing were discussed. It was also suggested that additional prerequisite behavioural cusps may need to be present prior to implementing procedures to induce Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming.

Link to Powerpoint

Observing the Effect of Anthropomorphic Toys on the Emission of Verbal Operants in Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder – Liz Ruff & Kate Hewett

This study replicated previously published research by Lodhi and Greer (1989) and showed that the presence of anthropomorphic toys (e.g. dolls, characters) led to more spontaneous language for two children diagnosed with autism.

This paper was presented in poster format at the 7^th International CABAS Conference (New Jersey, USA) in 2015.

The amount of spontaneous speech (specifically mands, tacts, sequelics and conversational units) was recorded in two children diagnosed with autism when they were provided with opportunities for free play. There were two conditions: firstly, non-anthropomorphic toys (e.g. playdoh and tools) were available; secondly anthropomorphic toys (e.g. dolls and different characters) were available. Both participants did not demonstrate any spontaneous speech when the non-anthropomorphic toys were present whereas the presence of anthropomorphic toys increased spontaneous language for both participants.

Link to Poster

Introducing ‘The Interest Table’ – a Comparison of Antecedent Stimuli on Peer Interactions in Children with a Diagnosis of Autism – Hayley Locke & Brian Fennell

Children diagnosed with autism can often face difficulties with early verbal development and social interaction with peers. The purpose of this study was to set up an ‘interest table’ in one area of the classroom and determine whether this led to an increase in peer interactions.

This paper was presented in poster format at the 11th International CABAS Conference (New York, USA) in 2022.

This study determined the effect of environmental manipulation, through a comparison of stimuli introduced on a central table in the play area of a classroom. The presence of anthropomorphic toys (e.g. dolls, characters), animals (guinea pigs) and toys themed on preferred interests all resulted in an increase in social behaviours. All three conditions resulted in an increase in prosocial behaviours in comparison to baseline conditions. The results of the study highlight the importance of considering the classroom environment to ensure generalisation and maintenance of social interaction skills.

Link to Poster

Investigating the effects of the echoic on the emergence of naming in children with autism – Kate Hewett, Veronica Baroni, Hayley Locke & Emma Hawkins

Following on from the conceptual article on naming by Hawkins, Gautreaux & Chiesa (2018) this research project tested five children diagnosed with autism for the presence of the six subtypes of naming. The purpose of the project was to determine whether the five children demonstrated emergent behaviour, for example if taught to point to an item then could they also tact/label that items without further teaching? An echoic procedure was implemented to induce the subtypes of naming that were not initially present.

This paper was presented in poster format at the 11th International CABAS Conference (New York, USA) in 2022.

Five children diagnosed with autism and a learning disability were tested for each of the subtypes of naming. If a subtype was not present then an echoic procedure was implemented to induce the subtype. The echoic procedure involved evoking an echoic response from the participants when they matched or pointed to stimuli. The echoic procedure was successful in inducing subtypes of naming for all five participants.

Link to Poster