Development of a Generalized Deictic Framing Repertoire in an Autistic Child

Chastain et al. (2025) taught an 8-year-old boy with autism to take another person’s point of view.

They used three simple word pairs: I/You, Now/Then, Here/There.

Trainers gave cues like “Where am I?” and praised correct “You are here” answers.

The team tracked each pair in a multiple-baseline design until all frames held steady.

The boy learned every trained relation and also passed untested “reverse” trials without extra teaching.

For example, after learning “I am here” when standing on a red mat, he later said “You are there” when the trainer stood on it.

Some new responses came out right away; others needed a few more examples.

Belisle et al. (2020) and Carol et al. (2009, 2010) already showed kids with autism can derive new relations after equivalence training.

Chastain’s work extends those studies from objects and amounts to people, time, and place—core perspective-taking skills.

Gilsenan et al. (2022) also used relational training but saw mixed behavior change during ACT sessions.

The difference is target: Gilsenan aimed to reduce problem behavior, while Chastain aimed to build deictic language; both used the same training logic, just different goals.

If a child can switch “I” and “you,” he can follow social rules like “Wait your turn” or “Look at me.”

You can copy Chastain’s mini-lessons in 5-minute table-top drills and then practice the frames during real routines—lining up, sharing toys, or story time.

Start with one frame, add the next only after the first hits 90 % for two days, and keep data on generalization to new places and people.