Imitation
Contents
- Manipulative Imitation without a Vocal Discriminative Stimulus
- The Revision of Procedures for Teaching Physical Imitation to Children with Autism
Manipulative Imitation Without A Vocal Discriminative Stimulus
Brandon Kline (2015)
Abstract
Imitation is important skill for children diagnosed with autism, as it plays a possible role in social behavior and language acquisition (Young, 1994). Because of this, there has been a lot of attention in literature looking at different techniques to teach imitation. Many procedures have involved different antecedents and consequences. For the purpose of this study, particular attention was paid to the antecedents of each trial. The procedure used shaping and had no vocal discriminative stimulus (SD), unlike the typical classroom procedure that involved physical prompts and the vocal SD “do this.” With imitation being the form of the behavior of the imitator being controlled by similar behavior of the model (Malott & Shane, 2014), you have to be sure you have imitation by making sure that the behavior is not under the control of a third stimulus. The goal of this study was to have the form of the model becoming the salient SD and reduce the chance of a third stimulus having any type of stimulus control. The participant was a child in an early intervention classroom that is located inside a special education school. The child learned to imitate the given actions during the study. The results of this study show that many procedures can teach imitation and will add to the research on this subject by introducing a method that uses shaping. It also stresses the importance of individualization within the child’s learning curriculum as a way to ensure the use of the best procedures possible for that child.
The Revision of Procedures for Teaching Physical Imitation to Children with Autism
Mary Howell (2015)
Abstract
Many children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities fail to acquire physical imitation skills despite current efforts in early intervention behavioral curricula. It is believed by various branches of psychology that imitation is established early in human development and that, in turn, it facilitates the acquisition of other important behavioral repertoires exclusive to humans (Hurley & Chater, 2005). The present study set out to improve the physical imitation procedure in a discrete trial classroom designed for children with autism spectrum disorder. The children chosen for this study were not progressing through the physical imitation procedure currently used by the classroom. Prior to this study, the procedure focused on only six target responses with no protocol to promote or test for generalization. The improved procedures focused on a wider range of target responses, more efficient prompting strategies, and included a protocol to check for generalization of the skill before children are able to meet mastery criteria. The results of this study will help to improve the classroom curriculum by evaluating a variety of teaching methods to help children with deficits in imitation to develop and maintain a strong imitative repertoire.
Keywords
autism, imitation, generalization
Materials
Physical Imitation Using Most-to-Least Within Session Prompt Fading Procedure
Akrum Eidelsafy (2019)
Abstract
Imitation is a crucial skill and supports the student’s ability to learn from his/her peers and the environment around them. A most-to-least (M-L) within session prompt fading procedure was created so that prompts were faded quickly and systematically. The targets listed in the procedure were specifically selected so that a tutor may deliver a model and a prompt simultaneously. The various prompts were faded based on the topography of the response being modeled for the student to imitate, until the student was engaging the response independently. All imitation targets were successfully taught, and the student responded correctly to novel actions showing we established a generalized imitative repertoire.