Teaching nonvocal children with autism to request for missing items

Domanska et al. (2022) worked with three nonvocal children with autism. The team wanted to teach the kids to ask for missing items during play.

They used an iPad AAC app. Trainers first hid a needed toy piece, then waited. If the child tapped the missing item’s icon, they got it back and play continued.

The program mixed trials with and without missing items. Kids also practiced with many toys, people, and rooms to help the skill stick.

All three children quickly learned to tap the icon when something was missing. The skill held up weeks later and spread to new toys and new adults.

Parents said kids also had fewer tantrums because they could now tell adults what they needed.

The result lines up with Orozco et al. (2023). They also saw fast mand learning no matter which AAC tool was picked. Together the papers tell us the method matters more than the gadget.

Howard et al. (2023) and de Jonge et al. (2025) push the idea further. They used the same interrupted-chain logic with girls who have Rett syndrome and taught them via telehealth. Skill still grew, showing the trick works beyond autism clinics.

Older PECS studies like Ganz et al. (2009) taught picture exchange but not for missing items. Domanska adds the ‘something’s gone’ moment, filling a gap those studies left open.

If you run play sessions or work in a classroom, hide one key piece, wait, and prompt the AAC icon. In a week you can turn silence into clear, useful requests. The child gets the toy, the game keeps moving, and problem behavior drops.