Mand acquisition across different teaching methodologies
A five-day probe can show whether to include a verbal question when you teach first mands.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two children with autism took part. The team compared two ways to teach first mands.
In one condition the adult added a spoken question prompt. In the other there was no verbal prompt.
An alternating-treatments design switched the methods across short daily sessions.
What they found
One child learned independent mands faster when the adult asked a question first.
The second child showed no clear speed difference between the two setups.
The authors say each learner may have a personal best recipe.
How this fits with other research
Valentino et al. (2019) extends this idea. They ran a quick pre-test to pick picture exchange or vocal training before they even started.
Alaimo et al. (2015) used the same alternating-treatments style. They showed mand teaching fails if adults drop below 70% accuracy, so prompt style only helps when you stay consistent.
Van der Molen et al. (2010) looked at non-vocal kids. They paired sign training with a vocal prompt and a delay. Their vocal output rose, hinting that a prompt can help, but only when the child already has some echoic skills.
Why it matters
You can find the best prompt style in under a week. Run brief daily probes with and without the verbal question. Graph the first independent mand each session.
Pick the faster curve and stick with it. This tiny test can save weeks of slow progress and gives each child a custom starting point.
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Join Free →Run two 10-trial mand sessions: one with a verbal prompt, one without; count the first unprompted mand in each and keep the faster method.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractMany children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder lack functional independent communication. The current study used a combined multiple‐baseline and alternating‐treatments design to evaluate whether the presence or absence of a verbal prompt (asking a question) during teaching affected independent verbal manding. Two teaching procedures were used to teach specific responses (two per teaching condition) and evaluate if the acquired response, once trained, occurred independently (in the absence of stimuli or supplemental prompts). One student learned more rapidly under the mand training condition whereas the other learned at a similar rate under both conditions. The assessment methodology presented may be beneficial in future practice to determine if one teaching procedure is more effective than the other for a learner.
Behavioral Interventions, 2019 · doi:10.1002/bin.1643