Training and generalization of affective behavior displayed by youth with autism.

Four youth with autism learned to show happy, sad, or angry faces and voices at the right time. Trainers first showed the correct face and voice. Then they gave gentle prompts and praise when the child copied the look and sound.

The team used a multiple-baseline design. They started training one emotion, then added the next only after the first looked good. They tested if the new skill moved to new places, new adults, and new stories without extra teaching.

Every child quickly used the right face and voice for each feeling. The gains were large and steady. The skills showed up with new therapists, new rooms, and new stories the kids had never seen before.

The children still used the faces and voices weeks later, even when no one reminded them.

Elsmore et al. (1994) ran the same teach-package two years earlier with graduate students. The steps matched: show the skill, let the learner try, give feedback. A et al. simply moved the package from college students to kids with autism.

Marzullo-Kerth et al. (2011) later swapped live models for short videos and taught sharing instead of feelings. The core idea stayed the same: watch, practice, get praise. Both studies saw the skill travel to new spots without extra drills.

Rutherford et al. (2003) tried the same lessons in a small group at a hospital. Gains were smaller and parents saw little carry-over at home. The one-to-one setup in A et al. looks stronger for big, lasting change.

You can teach context-appropriate faces and voices in a single case format. Use a model, prompt, and praise loop. Stack emotions only after the first one looks solid. Then probe in new rooms and with new people right away. If you run social-skills groups, keep some one-to-one time so the child gets enough practice trials for big gains.