Further analysis of picture interference when teaching word recognition to children with autism.
Pictures can block sight-word learning for kids with autism unless you embed them as compound stimuli and fade them out.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Dittlinger et al. (2011) asked a simple question: do pictures help or hurt when kids with autism learn to read sight words?
They ran two single-case tests. First, they paired new words with pictures the child could already name. Next, they paired words with pictures the child could not label.
In both tests the child had to master the printed word alone. The team tracked how fast each word was learned with and without the picture present.
What they found
Pictures slowed learning in every condition. Even when the child could not name the picture, the image still got in the way.
The authors say the picture "overshadowed" the text. The child’s attention stuck to the picture and the word never took control.
How this fits with other research
Goodwin et al. (2012) tried to repeat the study one year later and saw the opposite: pictures helped kids master sight words. The difference? L et al. used least-to-most prompting and kept pictures as prompts, not paired cues. Same population, opposite outcome — a clear apparent contradiction.
Lewis et al. (2025) stepped in with a fix. They kept both picture and word in view but arranged them as one compound stimulus. Every child with reading deficits now learned the text faster. Their compound method supersedes the 2011 finding by showing pictures can help if you present them the right way.
Lian et al. (2023) add another layer. Eye-tracking showed kids with autism plus ID stare at clutter in pictures. Strip the background and gaze locks on the key item. Their work extends Harper’s warning: pictures aren’t just extra — they can steal attention unless you simplify them.
Why it matters
For BCBAs, the takeaway is practical: don’t glue cute clipart on every flashcard. Start with text alone until the word controls responding. If you must use pictures, treat them as part of the stimulus, not a reward or prompt. Try the Lewis et al. compound layout: word and picture side-by-side, then fade the picture out. Check the child’s eye gaze — if it sticks on the image, simplify or remove it.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Previous research indicates that pairing pictures with associated words when teaching sight-word reading may hinder acquisition (e.g., Didden, Prinsen, & Sigafoos, 2000; Singh & Solman, 1990; Solman & Singh, 1992). The purpose of the current study was to determine whether this phenomenon was due to a previously learned association between the spoken word and picture (i.e., blocking) or due to the mere presence of a picture as an extrastimulus prompt (i.e., overshadowing). Three participants were taught to recognize words that were presented alone or paired with pictures that the participants either could or could not identify prior to training. All participants learned the words more quickly when they were presented alone rather than with pictures, regardless of their prior learning history with respect to pictures representing the words. This finding is consistent with the phenomenon of overshadowing. Nonetheless, consistent with blocking, all participants also acquired the words presented alone more quickly if they could not identify the associated pictures prior to training. Together, these findings have important implications for using prompts when teaching skills to individuals with developmental disabilities.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2011 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2011.44-341