Teaching "How?" mand-for-information frames to children with autism.

Three preschoolers with autism learned to ask "How do I?" and "How many?" questions.

The trainer set up short chains the kids wanted to finish, like getting candy from a sealed jar. When the child got stuck, the trainer blocked the next step and gave a full echoic prompt: "How do I open it?"

After a few trials each child said the question alone and later used it with new toys and new problems.

All three children quickly said the "How?" frames without prompts.

They later asked the same questions in new places and with new items, even when no one had trained those situations.

Meleshkevich et al. (2021) also taught wh-questions to preschoolers with autism, but they used echoics plus time delay to teach answers, not questions. The two studies sit side-by-side: one grows questions, the other grows answers.

Sutton et al. (2022) showed teachers can boost all kinds of talking in class. The current study gives teachers a concrete way to start that flow by first teaching "How?" mands that make kids talk.

Yakubova et al. (2021) let parents run video prompting at home. You could hand the same parents the chain-and-block method so they can teach "How?" questions during dinner or play.

You can add this chain-and-block trick to any table-time or play routine. Pick a toy with one hidden step, block it, prompt the "How?" question, then let the child finish. In a week you may hear brand-new questions without extra planning.