Using a blocked-trials procedure to teach identity matching to a child with autism.

One six-year-old boy with autism could not match identical pictures. The team ran identity-matching lessons in blocks of three same trials. They started with big blocks (12 same trials in a row) and later tried to fade to smaller blocks.

Each correct pick earned a toy piece. Errors got a beep and the trial restarted. Sessions happened at a small table in the boy's home.

The boy reached 90 % correct after only four sessions. When the team tried to fade block size, accuracy stayed high even without fading. In the end, he could match new pictures he had never seen before.

Maintenance checks at two and four weeks showed the skill stuck around.

Wilson et al. (2023) later showed the same child, now a young adult, could learn job-name–duty relations after only half were taught. Their work extends this tiny identity-matching lesson into useful vocational skills.

van Laarhoven et al. (2003) asked whether to pile examples within one trial or spread them across trials. Both papers tinker with trial layout, but K et al. fixed the stimulus while Toni varied it.

Shaked et al. (2004) warn that autism matching studies must report age and IQ so we can compare results. K et al. did not give mental age, so we cannot place the boy in their map.

You can teach identity matching faster by running several same trials in a row. Try starting with 12 identical trials before you mix in foils. If the learner hits 90 %, stop there—fading may be extra work you can skip. This cuts session time and gets you to tougher skills like equivalence classes sooner.