Using multiple‐tact training to produce emergent visual categorization in children with autism

Ribeiro et al. (2020) worked with two children with autism. They wanted to see if teaching a new tact to a picture the child already had a name for would go faster or slower than teaching a tact to a brand-new picture.

The team used multiple-tact training. They kept the same picture but swapped the label. For example, if the child already called it "dog," they now tried to teach the word "animal."

Re-training took longer. Both kids needed more trials to learn the second tact to the old picture than to learn a tact to a fresh picture.

The study shows that old labels get in the way. If a stimulus already has a tact, adding a new one is harder.

Mandel et al. (2022) looks like the opposite result. They taught only two tacts and then kids picked the third label by exclusion, saving time. The difference is procedure: Ribeiro re-taught the same picture, while Mandel let the kids infer the new label without extra teaching.

Clements et al. (2021) also found a faster path. They used matrix training and got 8–12 new numeral tacts for every one they directly taught. Again, no re-training was needed; the structure of the set did the work.

Grannan et al. (2012) showed emergent intraverbals after tact plus match-to-sample. Like Ribeiro, they kept the pictures, but they added a new task instead of swapping the label. Their positive outcome hints that adding, not replacing, is the smoother road.

When you plan tact programs, skip pictures that already have a strong label. Pick new photos, objects, or smells to keep teaching efficient. If you must re-label, expect extra trials and build that time into your session plan. Probe for exclusion or matrix gains first; you might get the new tact for free.