Temporal differentiation of response duration in children of different ages: developmental changes in relations between verbal and nonverbal behavior.

The team asked kids to press a button for a set length of time. They shaped the press until each child held it for the target seconds.

Children were grouped by age: younger, middle, and older. The researchers also wrote down any rules the kids said out loud while pressing.

By age 11, kids who stated a clear rule like “count to three” hit the target time almost every trial. Their words matched their timing.

Younger kids talked a lot but their words did not help them. They still needed the beeps and points to get the length right.

Charlop et al. (1985) saw the same link in adults: accurate timing went hand-in-hand with accurate verbal reports. The lab’s earlier rat work (E et al., 1965) proved duration can be shaped at any age, so the new limit is developmental, not mechanical.

Two autism studies seem to clash. Boucher et al. (2007) and Laugeson et al. (2014) found autistic children keep struggling with timing even past age 11. The clash clears up when you see V et al. tested only neurotypical kids; the rule-governed shift may come later or never in ASD.

Franich et al. (2021) extends the idea into speech: autistic kids’ syllables stay too long and too variable, hinting that the same missing rule system affects talking, tapping, and pressing alike.

Check the child’s rule before you fade prompts. If they can tell you the timing rule and follow it, lean on self-talk instead of extra reinforcement. If they can’t, stay with visible timers, models, or immediate feedback. For autistic clients, keep teaching timing directly—don’t assume age alone will create the verbal shortcut.