The facilitative effects of incidental teaching on preposition use by autistic children.

The team compared two ways to teach prepositions to three autistic preschoolers. One way was adult-led drills at a table. The other was incidental teaching inside normal play.

During play, the teacher waited for the child to show interest. Then she asked for a preposition before handing over the toy. The study switched the two methods every day to see which worked better.

Incidental teaching won. Kids used prepositions more often and in new places. They also used them without being asked first.

Table drills taught the words, but the children rarely used them later or anywhere else.

McGee et al. (1983) ran a similar setup two years earlier. They used incidental teaching to get autistic kids to sign instead of speak. Both studies show the same big idea: wait for child interest, then prompt. The words change; the method stays strong.

Lee et al. (2025) recently taught spatial prepositions with matrix training. Both papers got generalization, but in different ways. G et al. used play and waiting. Lee used careful table grids. You now have two tools for the same goal.

Shams et al. (2025) also ran naturalistic language games. Their kids gained broad vocabulary, not just prepositions. Taken together, the papers say: natural beats drill for real-world talking.

Stop running only table drills for language goals. Instead, place desired toys on high shelves or inside clear bins. When the child reaches, wait. Ask, “Where do you want it?” and prompt the preposition. Release the item right after the answer. You will get more spontaneous, generalized use with no extra materials.