Acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of a categorization strategy by children with autism.

Preston (1994) taught four kids with autism to sort objects by one, two, or three features. The team used a multiple-baseline design across behaviors. They started with color, then added shape, then added size.

All four children hit 100% correct sorting. Three kept the skill weeks later. All four could sort new toys they had never seen before.

Cicchetti et al. (2014) extends this work. They showed that listener training (touch the animal when you hear 'animal') can spark both sorting and naming without extra teaching.

Belisle et al. (2023) also extends the idea. They used brief drills on 'same/different' to build the basic frames that sit under sorting. Kids then sorted new items they had never touched.

Rojahn et al. (2012) looks like a contradiction. Their kids with autism slid to one-feature sorting on easy tasks. The gap closes when you see they never taught a strategy; the task was free play. Preston (1994) taught a step-by-step rule, so the kids could handle harder sets.

You can add a quick categorization warm-up to your table. Start with one feature, then mix in two, then three. Use toys you already have. The skill lasts and carries over to new items, saving you teaching time later.