Teaching receptive vocabulary to two autistic children: A replicated, clinic-based, single case experimental design.
Match-to-sample with sharp prompting and praise teaches thirty receptive words to autistic preschoolers in only three or four short clinic bursts.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Gray (2024) worked with two autistic preschoolers in a clinic. The goal was to teach them to point to the correct picture when they heard a word.
The team used match-to-sample. They showed a sample picture, then asked the child to find the same item from three new pictures. Prompts and praise were given as needed.
Sessions were short. Each child had only three to four brief visits.
What they found
Both children learned thirty new words. They could still pick the right picture when the photo looked different and they did it weeks later.
How this fits with other research
The result lines up with Alzrayer (2022). That study also used match-to-sample with autistic preschoolers and saw strong receptive gains. Alzrayer added an extra step called SPOP, while Gray kept it simple with just prompting and praise.
Gray’s finding seems to clash with Mueller et al. (2000). That team saw preschoolers learn more words from flashy computer games than from classic discrete-trial drills. The gap is about style, not science. M used a very plain DTT set-up. Gray used match-to-sample plus lively praise and quick prompt fading, showing that well-run DTT still works.
A big review by May (2011) backs both views. It says massed trials with good prompting and reinforcement teach sight words to minimally verbal students. Gray adds new proof that the same recipe works for receptive vocabulary in very young children.
Why it matters
You can teach dozens of receptive labels in just a handful of clinic visits. Use match-to-sample, watch the child’s response, and adjust prompts on the fly. If attention dips, add varied pictures and lively praise instead of switching to a computer. The skill sticks and transfers to new photos, giving you a fast tool for early language goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study was conducted in a clinical setting with the aim of replicating previously used procedures for teaching receptive vocabulary. Researchers increased the number of vocabulary words and maintained use of match-to-sample (MtS), prompting, and reinforcement procedures. Researchers were also interested in the efficacy of the intervention from caregivers’ perspectives. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design, two autistic preschoolers with receptive language impairment were taught to identify 30 common objects. MtS, prompting, and reinforcement procedures were individualized to support each child. Maintenance checks and generalization probes were completed after a predetermined number of intervention sessions (i.e. three or four clinic sessions). A social validity questionnaire was completed by parents following the final maintenance check. Receptive object identification improved significantly for both participants. Despite exposure to vocabulary targets for only three or four sessions, they generalized the vocabulary targets to non-identical pictures and maintained words at maintenance checks. Participants were most successful when researchers individualized prompting and reinforcement. MtS, prompting, and reinforcement were effective procedures for improving object identification, even with a limited number of intervention sessions. To support varying learner profiles, modifying prompting and reinforcement procedures was necessary. Caregivers of both participants reported positive improvements in areas such as communication, attention, and behaviors. This replicated study provides support for MtS, prompting, and reinforcement as means of teaching receptive vocabulary to autistic preschoolers in a clinical setting. The materials used were simple and cost-effective. Overall, this study outlines and supports a flexible and effective evidence-based practice to teach receptive language to autistic children.
Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 2024 · doi:10.1177/23969415241258699