Communicative spontaneity of children with autism: a preliminary analysis.

Chiang (2008) watched three minimally verbal kids with autism during free play and snack.

The team wrote down every sound, gesture, or word the child made on their own.

They noted who was there and what happened right after each communicative act.

Each child had their own mix of pointing, grunts, word attempts, and eye contact.

The same child used more sounds with mom, more gestures with the teacher, and almost none alone.

No single form or partner gave the full picture; you had to watch many spots to see the child’s range.

Chiang (2009) adds the next page: when teachers model and give verbal prompts, the kids do produce a few more words, but the overall rate stays very low.

Rosenthal et al. (1980) showed the opposite side of the coin: if you run tight mand drills you can get clear requests, yet those requests rarely pop up in new places without extra teaching.

Perrot et al. (2021) widens the lens to adults: autistic speakers also vary in how often they mention thoughts or feelings, hinting that spontaneity gaps last across the lifespan.

Together the four papers draw one map: autistic communication is highly place- and partner-specific; collect samples everywhere before you pick targets.

Before you write a goal, spend one session sampling the child’s self-started communication in at least three spots: with parent, with you, and alone with toys.

Circle the forms and functions that already show up, then build your first teaching plan on that starter set.