Script fading to promote unscripted bids for joint attention in children with autism.

We used a script-fading procedure to teach 3 children with autism to initiate bids for joint attention. We examined the effects of (a) scripts, (b) varied adult scripted responses, and (c) multiple-exemplar script training on promoting unscripted language during bids for joint attention. All 3 participants learned to initiate bids for joint attention, and the response generalized to untrained stimuli, conversation partners, and the classroom environment.