| Abstract | Using a single case design, the present study evaluated the addition of an echoic response requirement to picture prompts during receptive training. Receptive training addresses a child's comprehension of spoken language and occupies a large proportion of early intervention curricula for children with autism and young typically developing children (e.g., Lovaas, 2003). Earlier research shows that receptive training can be facilitated through the use of picture prompts (Carp, Peterson, Arkel, Petursdottir, & Ingvarsson, 2012; Fisher, Kodak, & Moore, 2007) or by requiring the child to echo the verbal prompt before selecting a stimulus (Charlop, 1983). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of combining picture prompts and echoic response requirements in two typically developing preschoolers. An alternating treatments design was used to evaluate three conditions: (a) an echoic response plus picture prompt, (b) a picture prompt, and (c) a trial and error control. Surprisingly, acquisition of receptive vocabulary was fastest in the picture prompt condition. Potential reasons for this finding are discussed. |
