The discrimination of object names and object sounds in children with autism: a procedure for teaching verbal comprehension.

Two preschoolers with autism already knew that a cow says "moo." The researchers asked: can we use that sound skill to teach the word "cow"?

They tried a prompt-delay trick. First they showed the cow while playing "moo" and waited three seconds. The kids pointed to the cow. After a few trials they dropped the sound and only said "cow." The delay let the spoken name take over.

Both kids learned the name-object link faster after the prompt-delay switch. The sound acted like a bridge to the spoken word.

Carnerero et al. (2014) got the same naming goal without any sound step. They just paired the picture with the spoken name over and over. Both paths work, but Svein starts from a skill the child already has.

Thakore et al. (2025) also use a transfer idea, yet they begin with object imitation instead of sounds. Their kids first copy play actions, then learn to pick the item when they hear its name. Together these studies show you can start from sounds, imitation, or direct pairing and still reach naming.

Kim et al. (2023) come later and add a twist: if simple naming probes fail, quickly rotating speaker and listener responses inside one trial block can finish the job. The field keeps refining how we jump-start receptive language.

If a child knows object sounds, you can leverage that strength. Run a short prompt-delay series: sound first, then drop it and use only the name. The prior skill speeds up the new one. No extra toys or software needed—just a three-second wait.