PURPOSE: Investigators taught a 5-year-old boy with autistic disorder and severe language delay to conditionally use requests for assistance. METHOD: A within-participant multiple-probe design across 3 functional tasks was implemented in order to evaluate the child's acquisition and conditional use of requests for assistance during intervention with each task. RESULTS: Results indicated initial acquisition of requests for assistance followed by a brief period of overgeneralization. As independence in completing a task increased, requests for assistance correspondingly decreased. The participant's conditional use of requests for assistance and independent task completion were sustained across time. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the need to assess conditional use of newly taught communicative behavior.
PURPOSE: Investigators taught a 5-year-old boy with autistic disorder and severe language delay to conditionally use requests for assistance. METHOD: A within-participant multiple-probe design across 3 functional tasks was implemented in order to evaluate the child's acquisition and conditional use of requests for assistance during intervention with each task. RESULTS: Results indicated initial acquisition of requests for assistance followed by a brief period of overgeneralization. As independence in completing a task increased, requests for assistance correspondingly decreased. The participant's conditional use of requests for assistance and independent task completion were sustained across time. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the need to assess conditional use of newly taught communicative behavior.