Effects of dictation-taking and match-to-sample training on listing and spelling responses in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Adults with intellectual disability learned to copy spoken words onto paper. They also practiced matching pictures to printed words.

The trainer used a multiple-baseline design across participants. No one got spelling or synonym lessons.

After dictation or match-to-sample lessons, every adult could spell the words out loud. They could also list synonyms they had never been taught.

The new skills showed up without extra prompts or rewards.

Hewett et al. (2024) saw the same spark in autistic children. Tact training created new listener and intraverbal skills. When that did not happen for every child, adding multiple-exemplar instruction finished the job.

Vascelli et al. (2024) pushed the idea further. Fluent picture-free tact drills gave kids with autism and ID new category answers. Together these studies show one lesson can bloom into several untaught verbal skills across ages and diagnoses.

Neef et al. (1986) used a different path. They taught spelling to children with ID through overcorrection plus praise. Both papers reached the same shore—accurate spelling—using very different boats.

You can add dictation or match-to-sample to any adult program. These quick drills may unlock spelling and vocabulary the learner never practiced. Check for the bonus skills after a few sessions. If they do not appear, weave in multiple exemplars like Kate et al. did.