Language intervention and disruptive behavior in preschool children with autism.

Koegel et al. (1992) compared two ways to teach language to nonverbal preschoolers with autism. One group got the classic sit-at-the-table discrete trials. The other group stayed on the floor and played while adults followed the child’s lead and talked about what the child already wanted.

The researchers flipped the conditions back and forth in an ABAB design so each child served as his own control.

When teaching moved to the natural play routine, disruptive behavior almost vanished. At the same time, the children used more words and sounds than during the table-top drills.

In other words, letting the child choose the toy and building language around that moment cut problem behavior and boosted communication.

Reni et al. (2022) saw the same double win—less tantrums, more communication—when they gave nonverbal preschoolers PECS cards instead of spoken prompts. The method differs, but the pattern matches: give the child an easy way to ask, and acting-out drops.

Peters et al. (2013) extend the idea by teaching functional requests before problems start. Their Preschool Life Skills program stops later problem behavior without any extra punishment plan, echoing L et al.’s finding that communication itself can replace disruption.

Giesbers et al. (2020) update the 1992 work into a full caregiver-coached package that adds AAC and follows an RCT design. The naturalistic heart is the same, but the newer study shows the effect holds when parents run the sessions.

You can run naturalistic language teaching anywhere—on the carpet, in the sandbox, at the kitchen table. Follow the child’s lead, model the word for what they already want, and deliver the item right away. You should see both better talking and almost zero problem behavior within a few sessions.