Equivalence classes in individuals with minimal verbal repertoires.

The team worked with adults who had intellectual disability and almost no spoken words.

They used matching-to-sample lessons to build new equivalence classes.

Each person learned to pick the correct picture when given a sample, then the researchers tested if the new links popped up without direct teaching.

Three out of three adults in the first group showed full emergent relations.

Only one of two adults in the second group did the same.

The study proved that you do not need rich language to form stimulus classes.

Almeida-Verdu et al. (2008) later repeated the idea with deaf children who had cochlear implants.

They also saw new relations emerge, showing the method works across different disabilities.

Plazas et al. (2025) now says we should train both select and reject responses for stronger classes.

This update does not erase the 2000 finding; it just gives you a sharper tool to use.

If your client has few words, you can still run equivalence training.

Start with simple picture matching and test for untaught relations.

Add the newer detached MTS steps from Plazas et al. (2025) if you want the strongest classes.