Teaching Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder to Report Past Behavior With the Use of a Speech-Generating Device
Photo cue, visual imaging, and a short self-question script on an SGD let a child with autism recall and report past events.
01Research in Context
What this study did
One child with autism used a tablet that spoke for him.
The team wanted him to tell what he did yesterday.
They showed a photo of the activity, told him to close his eyes and picture it, then asked scripted questions like Who was there? and What did we do?
Each step was prompted and then faded.
Sessions ran one-on-one at a table.
What they found
After training, the boy used his device to give more correct details about past events.
The picture plus imaging plus script package worked.
Parents saw the skill at home too.
How this fits with other research
Bishop et al. (2020) used the same device with echoic prompts and also got more child speech.
Their kids were younger and the goal was any vocalizing, not memory, so the two studies line up.
Goldman et al. (2015) watched parents ask direct questions and saw no extra recall.
That looks like a clash, but their children were older and had no script.
The new study shows scripted self-questions, not adult grill-style ones, unlock memory.
Kaneda et al. (2025) later turned off the device voice and still kept communication high, proving the gadget can stay in play while new skills grow.
Why it matters
You can add this three-step routine to any SGD program today.
Show a photo from the last activity, cue the child to picture it, then run through Who, What, Where prompts on the device.
Fade your help as fingers move faster.
It costs no extra gear and gives the learner a way to share life events, a skill parents value highly.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Take one photo from last session, show it, say Picture it, then guide the child through Who-What questions on the SGD and fade prompts.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Problem-solving strategies, such as visual imagining and self-questioning, may assist children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in recalling past events. In the current study, at the start of each session, a 7-year-old boy with ASD engaged in a novel activity with a behavior therapist who took pictures of the activity. Ninety minutes later, a different therapist asked the participant to describe the prior activity. The intervention consisted of showing the participant pictures of the activity, telling him to close his eyes and imagine the activity, modeling asking and answering seven questions (e.g., "Who was there?" "What was one thing that happened?"), prompt fading, and reinforcement. Following the intervention, recall statements increased.
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s40616-019-00112-2