Teaching reciprocal imitation skills to young children with autism using a naturalistic behavioral approach: effects on language, pretend play, and joint attention.

Ingersoll et al. (2006) taught five preschoolers with autism to copy play actions with toys. They used a naturalistic style: the adult followed the child’s lead, gave clear models, and handed over the toy right away.

The team tracked each child in a multiple-baseline design. They measured if the kids could copy new actions, use new words, and share attention during play.

Every child learned to imitate the play actions and used the skills with new toys and new adults. Language, pretend play, and joint attention also rose without extra drills.

Delprato (2001) reviewed ten studies and showed that loose, child-led language teaching beats tight discrete-trial drills for preschoolers with autism. Ingersoll et al. (2006) adds a new skill—object imitation—to that same naturalistic package.

Ingersoll et al. (2003) found that toys with lights or sounds boost imitation in lab tasks. The 2006 study moves that idea into real play sessions and still sees strong gains.

Stephens (2008) tried a similar naturalistic plan inside musical routines and saw mixed results. Ingersoll et al. (2006) kept the play format simple and got steady success across all five kids, showing the method can work when routines stay consistent.

You can teach imitation without tables or mass trials. Follow the child’s play, model the action, and hand over the toy. Expect bonus gains in language and shared attention. Try it during free play or snack time tomorrow—one model, one turn, one happy kid.