Using Object Imitation to Establish Auditory‐Visual Conditional Discrimination in Children Diagnosed With Autism
Use brief imitation trials to turn copy-cat play into solid listener responses for kids who already imitate but can’t yet pick items by name.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked with two children with autism who could copy play actions but could not pick the right toy when they heard its name.
Sessions started with object imitation: the adult said "car" while pushing a toy car, and the child copied the push.
Next the adult removed the action. She only said "car" and waited. The child now had to point to the car from three toys.
This transfer-from-imitation procedure was repeated for four different toy sets. The researchers tracked correct listener responses across days.
What they found
Both children learned to touch the correct toy every time they heard its name.
They kept the skill for new toys they had never been taught, and scores stayed high two weeks later.
How this fits with other research
Eikeseth et al. (2009) taught the same listening skill, but they started with object sounds instead of actions. Their preschoolers first learned to pick the toy that goes "beep," then the name "phone." Both studies show you can piggy-back new listener skills on top of cues the child already has.
Carnerero et al. (2014) took a different route: they simply showed the picture while saying the name over and over. Their kids also gained listener skills without any imitation step. Thakore’s imitation bridge gives you a third option when the child copies well but does not yet sit for long picture–word pairings.
Cubicciotti et al. (2019) asked whether the order of pictures matters during AVCD drills. They found each child learned fastest with a different order. Thakore’s data add another layer: before you worry about order, check if imitation can give the child a head start.
Why it matters
If you have a learner who imitates play but fails listener probes, start with action-copy trials. Fade the action out after a few days and require only the point or touch. This quick transfer can save hours of direct AVCD drilling and may cut escape behaviors that pop up during hard table tasks. Try it in your next session: pair one toy with one action, let the child copy, then remove the action and test the listener response. Track data for five days—you should see the child select the item by name alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
ABSTRACTResponding effectively to verbal stimuli requires auditory‐visual conditional discriminations (AVCDs), which some learners with severe language delays struggle to acquire. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of transferring control over object selection from a modeled action to a spoken word. The participants were two six‐year‐old twins who already had generalized object imitation skills but had not successfully acquired any listener discriminations. During the object imitation to AVCD transfer procedure, the instructor initially modeled a play‐based functional action with each object and reinforced object imitation. Correct object imitation was then followed by an AVCD trial. Effects on acquisition were evaluated in a two‐tier multiple baseline design across participants with replication across stimulus sets. Both the participants not only acquired the AVCD targets across 4 sets, but showed generalization and maintenance across other AVCD targets during and following the study.
Behavioral Interventions, 2025 · doi:10.1002/bin.70009