In order to teach children with autism to ask for things (mand), it is important to quickly give them what they ask for. This study was designed to see at what point it is possible to stop giving them everything they ask for and yet still have them ask for things. All four of the children in the study learned to ask for yellow and blue cards. The authors discovered that all of the children needed to be given the card within five minutes of asking for it in order to continue asking for cards. One child needed to get the card within a minute of asking for it in order to know that he could keep asking for the card. The authors describe how their research may be able to help in designing better picture exchange communication systems (PECS).
Autism Therapy: mand
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- Research in Developmental Disabilities, by Sidener, TM, Shabani DB, Carr JE, and Roland JP, published in 2006, summarized Feb 13, 2007
- Behav Modif., by Sundberg, ML, and Michael J., published in 2001, summarized Oct 19, 2006
Although applied behavior analysis (ABA) has been effective in improving general behavior in children with autism, the authors of this article suggest that more emphasis should be put on using an ABA approach to teach verbal behavior.
The authors begin by describing the views of the influential behaviorist, B.F. Skinner. Skinner theorized that speaking, listening, and responding are separate elements of communication. Skinner defined several types of useful verbal operators, known as mands (requests) as being the most important tools for early education. For example, when a child asks for milk, this mand is reinforced automatically by the object of the request - ??the child receives milk. In this way the child acquires language that supports the development of other mands. The authors also note that the therapist should remember that certain complex relationship words (like "larger" or "before") can be difficult for the child to understand. They suggest that verbal-behavior training, using Skinner's approach can eventually lead the child with autism to understand complex relationship words and to use them correctly.
- Infants & Young Children, by Harris, SL, and Delmolino L., published in 2002, summarized Oct 19, 2006
This article describes some of the basic tools of the applied behavioral analysis (ABA) approach, namely discrete trials, mand training (teaching a child to make requests), fluency, and incidental teaching.
ABA has been shown to be effective when used in programs designed and directed by clinicians or parents. One of the important strengths of a parent-directed approach is that parents know their children best, and can tailor their childâ??s curriculum to suit needs of the child. This article reviews research showing that the clinician- and parent-directed ABA treatment approaches are both effective for children with autism. The authors conclude by stating that further research is needed to document the long-term outcomes of early intervention with ABA treatment.
Generalized Imitation and the Mand: Inducing First Instances of Speech in Young Children with Autism
This paper describes the effectiveness of a speech therapy approach that can be especially useful for children who are having difficulties making their first sounds.
Research suggests that if a child is encouraged to quickly imitate motor behavior, then they may be more receptive to independently requesting an item through vocalization (mand). This paper reports the results of a study to determine whether using motor imitation before modeling speech is effective in teaching speech. In other words, is it helpful to first have a child mimic grunts and sounds before actually attempting to mimic speech? The generalized motor imitation tactic was combined with mand training procedures. The result of the study was that five elementary school-aged children could be taught to vocalize when instruction began with a generalized motor imitation sequence. Specifically, all participants were able to learn to imitate modeled sounds and independently use speech to request items (mands).
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